Tephra is a coffee table created by Alan Flannery Furniture Design in Bristol, United Kingdom. This design is the first produced at the fledgeling furniture design studio which opened its doors in the summer of 2016. Inspired by the forces, processes and beauty of the natural world the studio set about to design and create a table that reflected these influences in furniture-form. The design is carefully considered to ensure that the larger proportion of its mass is behind the tipping point, allowing its cantilevered form to balance effortlessly.
The table aims to reflect this natural occurrence not only in its flowing shape and structural make-up but also in its process of manufacture. The removal of material, layer by layer, little by little over time allows the table’s shape to form a singular, flowing and smooth structure.
The table is created by using a block lamination process which entails glueing squared blocks of wood together, layering them up into a pixilated shape. The blocks are joined together by rectangular wooden splines. The structure is then carved back through many of the layers until the desired shape is created. It is then smoothed and sanded by hand before finish is applied. Carving through layers in such a fashion distorts the appearance of the blocks, splines and grain patterns meaning that each of the fifty tables to be produced have their own unique look and personality.
H39cm W95cm D50cm in Ash
The lead time for this piece is 6-8 weeks