Toby Howes graduated from Kings College in 1990 with a degree in Ecology. He spent 13 years working with various organizations studying ways to lessens man’s impact on the environment. From this experience he learned that the smallest detail can dramatically change a situation in the long term, a lesson that Howes applies to his design of furniture. Howes background in ecology has influenced his choice of materials, all his wood is FSC certified from local timber yards.

Orator. Designed by Toby Howers.

Howes ecological background and attention to detail come together to create some truly unusual pieces of furniture. The Orator coffee table is a scaleless piece that is refined enough to be a delicate jewelry box. Made from a combination of zebrano and walnut wood, the Orator is a six sided table with three solid walnut sides and three sculptural zebrano sides. The surprise of the piece is each walnut wedge is a separate entity that can be slid out and become a side table in its own right. The negative space of the wedges is a bright red, which is a great contrast against the striped zebrano wood. The skeleton of the table, (the zebrano interior) is a sculptural object that carries itself, although it is not as useful as a coffee table without its walnut counterparts.

Howes sites William Morris as inspiration for his designs, “Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” Morris, like Howes, used nature as an inspiration for his design. The Orator is a modern, elegant piece of furniture that achieves the criteria set forth by William Morris.

via Contemporist