The Autonomous Constantinople nesting tables by Kirk Van Ludwig demonstrates how two objects very different in geometry, colour, weight, and materials, can cohesively work together.

Made to size and fit to its environment, the whitened Ash round sits on three asymmetrical acrylic one-inch thick legs while the torched Vancouver Island Douglas Fir square sits on two one-and-a-half-inch acrylic legs slightly offset.  The result is a harmony of carefully considered materials and shapes.  

Much like its namesake city, the Constantinople nesting tables form a centre point for its living space with both pieces working harmoniously together.  See details for the Constantinople here.

Kirk Van Ludwig's Autonomous Furniture was selected to be 1 of 10 designers for NYC Design week's Wanted Design Manhattan Look Book this May.   Featured will be the Constantinople table set (shown above) and the Freeman Bench Walnut.  

Artist and photographer Jo-Ann Richards is exhibiting a solo show of her Emergence series of nearly all black paintings in our Victoria showroom. Always looking for quiet space, Jo-Ann's textured pieces use a Japanese process called nihonga that cooks the minerals and graphite.

Jo-Ann’s work is driven from a desire to move from the representational images she works with as a commercial photographer, to more ambiguous and less decipherable forms. Representation is replaced by abstract forms with a shift in focus to mood, emotion and atmosphere. 

“I have been exploring themes; movement and stillness, energy and calm. This manifests in the work as the quiet of the foreground containing or harnessing the activity in the background. The colour black represents a quiet and enveloping space, a meditation, the night. Immersion in this dark environment leads to heightened sensory responses. Forms emerge from underlying surface, distinction between figure and ground is blurred.”

Initially Jo-Ann combines bursts of vivid colours and textures using plaster and acrylic paints. The works are then finished with a veil of black minerals and polished graphite that brings attention to the expressivity of texture and nuance.

Join us in our Victoria showroom to see these stunning works of art for yourself. The Emergence Exhibition is on until the end of January 2019. And perhaps you're interested in hearing more from Jo-Ann? Check out Western Living's interview with her at our opening night here.

As design aficionados, we're thrilled when good design makes its way into every aspect of daily life ... and honoured to have Autonomous featured as 'one to watch' in Western Living's summer issue. We've been busy these last few months building some very stunning tables for Victoria's newest pasta bar, Lot 1, and striking tables and countertops for the newest and hottest (hint!!) location of our favourite coffee shop.

(Photo: Lillie Louise Major.)

All this 'head in the details' work can make us lose sight of our goal - to design and build beautiful contemporary furniture - for both your home and favourite commercial spaces. So hearing that we've been shortlisted as a finalist for Western Living's Furniture Designer of the Year award made us step back and take a look at what we've been delivering this year and are excited to launch our latest at this year's IDS Vancouver show.

That's right, we're coming to Vancouver this Fall when we attend the IDS Vancouver show, and we can't wait! This show is expected to be an amazing who's who of design, including guest appearance by Tom Dixon. We have some exciting new pieces to debut, so stay tuned.

Last year's IDSWest trade show hosted a first ever Los Angeles-based designer booth where their work was featured in a booth curated by Design Milk.

The LA Exchange exhibit was a celebration of LA’s killer design sense, and was created by Falken Reynolds Interiors who designed a stunning space that perfectly showcased six talented design brands, and their work, including our personal favourite: the Jax table by Jory Brigham.

We at Autonomous are proud to be BC's first stockist of Jory Brigham's Jax table. What's more is that we are displaying the amazing mint green metal base paired with reclaimed oak in our showroom. We are in love with the fresh modern feel of this piece!

The Jax table is available in other wood species and metal colour combinations, most popularly available in black powder-coated as well as brass steel (shown here). Contact us directly for more information on the Jax table.

A little insight into Jory Brigham? He is one of LA's most talented furniture designers, and known for his classic mid century style with a playful fusion.

Fun fact? Jory is a past winner of Spike reality TV competition "Framework". 

We invite you to come visit our showroom to see the Jax table for yourself.

Perhaps you've been reading of upcoming trends in interior design including a Nordic appeal. Even Elle Décor is talking about Pinterest's annual list of design inspiration predictions for 2016 including Scandinavian inspired design as #2.

We’ve been feeling this clean and crisp natural styling for awhile now, often taking inspiration from Danish company Bang & Olufsen and Norwegian company Stokke (can’t help but notice our daughter’s clean-lined Tripp Trapp!), and even European car design is taking notice.

Take our b6 dining table, incorporating a reverse natural edge with a centre reveal, where the bark has been carefully finished to remain intact, and the outside edge of the tabletop has a clean knife edge.

Continuing on our Scandinavian inspired aesthetic, our b6 tabletop is finished in a whitewashed natural hardwax oil, providing a muted natural wood look. Trapezoid steel legs are powder-coated in black, with a natural polished detail on the leading edge, giving an edgy black and steel detail.

The modern yet natural organic look often seen in Nordic design is shown in our Edge side table, with its tapered Douglas Fir base and chamfered edge.

As we look ahead to a new year, we can’t help but be excited to see where these beautiful furniture pieces end up.