Thoughtfully crafted and beautifully designed home products are what we’ve come to expect from Philadelphia studio Edgewood Made. Its founders, George Dubinsky and David Short, wanted to address contemporary needs “through low impact heirloom quality goods,” and began producing a range of products for the modern home whose design is at the crossroads of nature and manufacturing. Edgewood takes products from conception to production
With design backgrounds from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), Dubinsky and Short strongly believe in the importance of well-made, uniquely designed goods that not only make sense from an everyday use standpoint, but keep whoever is using them in touch with the products’ origins.
The Edgewood Made Black Wood Board and the Cheese Cutter and Cheese Knife all feature zero 90 degree angles. This is accomplished through a hexagonal cross-section handle that takes nature for its inspiration:
“In nature there are no right angles,” their site states. “Anything that is an acute angle in nature eventually is worn down to an obtuse angle. Most things that come from woodworking machines have ninety degree angles to them, as that is the easiest way to process material. In an effort to get a way from the machined look, while simultaneously referencing nature and creating something that feel comfortable in ones hand we created the edge detail that appears on the cutting board. This detail appears on much of our furniture and other wood products.”
“Natural reactions and forms that come from nature especially come from wood, are at the core of what inspires us.”
The rich, dark color of the Edgewood Board and cheese tools is achieved through natural oxidation. This natural process is aided through a solution Edgewood creates themselves using steel wool and vinegar. It is food safe and a product of the natural reactions of the wood. All their wood products are then finished with an all-natural, food safe oil. The finish provides a durable protective coating to the surface and penetrates deep into the wood, ensuring a longer lasting product.
“We utilize nature as our inspiration and manufacturing as our medium.”
One of the best features of the Edgewood Board is that if used as a cutting board, the cuts will slowly gray, creating a brilliant sunburst effect. If the preference is to maintain the bold dark walnut throughout, one side can be used for cutting, and one for display.
Co-founder David Short explained the Edgewood Made process to us:
“Virtually every aspect of our work we do ourselves in our shop. The wood comes in as raw lumber from a company in western Pennsylvania. We surface the boards into rectangular blanks. From there they are put on our CNC Router. We had a custom bit created to cut the edge profile, and with this bit the shape and edge detail is created. From there we hand sand and finish the whole board and at the end laser engrave our logo in.
“We have vintage machines that we have brought back to life from old factories and pair these machines with some of the latest technology as well as our hand skills. With out an understanding of wood and traditional woodworking nothing we do would be possible.”
Look for new Edgewood Made products in the Unison Spring Collection.