Thomas Conter

Colorado Springs, CO

(b. 1949, Illinois)

“If you do something beautiful with a tree it lives forever” George Nakashima

I discovered live edge or natural edge woods in 2015, and I have been hooked ever
since. The style first popularized in the 1970’s by American furniture maker, George
Nakashima, incorporates the natural edge of the wood into the design of the piece
making each one unique.

I travel to about five Colorado sawmills and to other states’ sawmills which deal in
live edge wood. Before it became popular, sawmills would trim off the bark and live
edge and toss it in the debris pile. Now they carefully trim off the bark which leaves a series of cuts with the live edge intact. I search through their inventory looking for
pieces with distinctive grain, colors and shapes. The wood which I purchase has been responsibly harvested from dead or dying old growth.

All of my pieces incorporate turquoise chips to repair damaged knots or to fill cracks. Each piece undergoes ten to fifteen crafting steps to complete the unique look and feel of live edge tables and other furnishings.

My creations have been represented at 45° for over seven years. During that time, over 300 of my pieces have sold, including over 100 tables, and they are in at least 25 states.