Trendy Makers: Blackwell Woodworks

Upcycled guitar scraps are remodeled into Mid Century Trendy-inspired clocks, music stands and artwork items by a gifted luthier.

The place most solely see castaway wooden scraps, luthier Eric Blackwell sees MCM clocks, music stands, and artwork items. “I’m a guitar maker,” Eric says. “Guitars are constructed from positive, high-end woods and, at some point, I made a decision I wished to make one thing from the items we might throw away.” As he was pondering of various methods to make use of the scraps, he got here throughout an intriguing piece at a swap meet.

It was a picket Mid Mod model clock, and he was immediately taken by its minimalistic design. “I noticed that the leftover items from my guitar builds had been excellent for Mid Century Trendy artwork. It actually was a state of affairs the place the supplies and their shapes match the model,” he says. Therefore, Blackwell Woodworks, positioned in Los Angeles, California, was born.

A Distinctive Path from Guitar Scraps to MCM

Guitars had been the distinctive path that led Eric to woodworking. As a teen, he started working at a guitar manufacturing unit in Newbury Park, California—and has labored on the firm for the previous 20 years. It was there that he realized the positive artwork of guitar constructing and bought a skillset that overlaps into different avenues of woodworking. “I used to be surrounded by quite a lot of gifted guys, and that’s the place I acquired my coaching,” Eric says. “I’ve taken what I realized from constructing guitars and have been capable of apply these strategies in distinctive methods.”

Eric was impressed to start his personal enterprise in 2018 after seeing the reactions of family and friends when he made them retro-inspired items as items from the upcycled wooden from the guitar manufacturing unit. “I used to be having a blast, and so I started to place my items on Etsy. It grew from there, and I’m excited it’s gotten so massive,” Eric says. He’s now expanded and has a thriving on-line store the place Mid Century Trendy aficionados snatch up his one-of-a-kind items.

Private Type

Eric’s model merges vibrant persona with high-quality woodworking, captured in each ability and supplies. “Guitars are constructed from the best woods, so the scraps I take advantage of for my clocks, stands and artwork are as properly,” Eric says. Figured maple, mahogany, walnut and rosewood discover their manner into his creations, the place they’re showcased in all their magnificence and given distinctive life underneath Eric’s experience.

“I do issues fully in a different way than a conventional designer may,” Eric says. “I’m unorthodox in my strategies, so it provides my items their very own look.” He loves developing with designs that emphasize the enjoyable facet of MCM model, and works with a accomplice, Sarah Gencarelli, for a few of his art work. He’s desirous to collaborate with artists and welcomes different creatives to contact him to work collectively. On the finish of the day, he’s joyful that his work has discovered its greatest expression within the classic model. “I’m a guitar man who’s fallen in love with Mid Century Trendy design,” he says. “I’m actually having fun with it.”

To be taught extra about Eric and his guitar scraps put to distinctive MCM decor makes use of, go to blackwellwoodworks.com & comply with Eric on Instagram @blackwell_woodworks.

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