The Fern Conference Table
Tempe
2006
The Fern Conference Table was a groundbreaking experiment in concrete furniture design. It was the first table we ever created with an intentional crack running through its center - an idea that was as practical as it was poetic.
The table was cast in two halves, which made transportation, installation, and movement dramatically easier. But that fracture also created space for a custom stainless steel grow tray mounted beneath. Plants could thrive in the center of the table, growing up through the opening. At first, we planted cactus, but the low light of the studio wasn’t ideal. The solution? Asparagus fern, which loved the space so much it eventually spilled off the table and crawled across the floor toward the light.
The table was crafted from a previous generation of GFRC concrete in clay color, detailed with inlaid fossils and meteorite slices. Its surface was finished with our now-retired black tea wash, which gave the concrete a pre-aged, storied look before we sealed it. The base was fabricated from welded steel I-beams, with casters on one end to allow easy mobility within the studio.
The Fern Table lived many years at our front studio before being sold to a Phoenix coffee shop. Later, a client (the Desert Outpost House project) wanted one just like it. Though I refused to duplicate the design, he tracked it down and bought the original for himself. His grin when I saw it on his patio said it all: give the client what they want.
The Fern Conference Table remains one of the most important milestones in my career - a piece that proved concrete could fracture, hold life, and still endure.
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