I like to write about Colorado Designers, especially because most people think nothing happens between New York and L.A. Having just driven from Colorado to the East Coast, I can tell you that that assessment is mostly true. However, there are interesting exceptions in various states along the way—Colorado is one of the states where a lot is happening in the A and D scene (for one, the state has a lot of sustainable design). Jed Davis from Denver-based Naked Dog Design will be the focus of this little trip into the central regions of the United States.

Dining Chair. Designed by Naked Dog Designs.

Though Davis still has two years to go before he completes an Industrial Design degree from Metro State College in Denver, he recently designed this appealing Dining Chair, a curved wooden piece that takes much of its cues from bent plywood furniture like the Spring Chair and Gehry’s classic Wiggle Chair. Davis’ version is perhaps a little wilder: made of four slats, the chair emphasizes its lines by highlighting the two different tones of the wood. The double “S” curve that forms the seat of the chair is as dramatic as a roller coaster (in profile, it immediately reminded me of a hot wheels track my brother refused to let me play with when I was a child). Yes, our young industrial artiste is somewhat of a bad boy—his modified Mohawk (a look straight out of the 1980’s movie Vision Quest) belies his 4.0 grade point average, which he isn’t bashful about mentioning on his Coroflot profile. Besides the Dining Chair, you can find examples of his other work at this very website.

His Kitchen Stool also caught my eye, as it exhibits excellent joinery skills, sublime dovetails, and an exquisite eye for the rich tones of wood, thus showing that Davis’ talents surpass bentwood.

Via Chairblog.