I was commissioned to make a writing desk with a jazz theme. I chose to have about forty silhouettes of trumpets running around the top. Each had to be identical to make it look like the marquetry was stenciled. The laser cutter was the perfect tool for this, as once the design is in the computer the machine can cut duplicates endlessly.
Each “tile” is made from satinwood and the trumpets are maple. The laser cutter was programmed to leave a little gap which was filled with a black magic made from ebony dust and glue.
There are trompe l’oeil magazines on the top that reflect interests of the clients. (The home is New York City, they were on the board of the American Craft Museum, and they were obviously jazz fan, and loaned me the Downbeat magazine).
The desk itself was modeled on another desk I had made using walnut oysters.