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THENCE BY DESCENT

@thencebydescent

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Seattle design gallery/dealer specializing in authentic, handcrafted Nakashima works. Sparking an obsessive appreciation for heirloom-quality design.

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Be the Needle, Not the Haystack.

The establishment of @thencebydescent and the decisions I make are grounded by a simple principle: Be the needle, not the haystack. During my booth installation yesterday at @seattleartfair, a neighbor gallery (Clue 1: Not @the_vestibule_ next door with works by Azadeh Gholizadeh - I’m obsessed!) approached me, “Can I give you some advice? Sometimes less is more. You have a lot.” He (Clue 2) continued, “You’re not going to have people traffic. I would get rid of the bench and move your table.” I could only afford the smallest 12’ x 12’ booth. Even if I had a larger space my objective is not to squeeze 20 people into a booth for high turnover. If you want fast food, visit that gallery.

I’m the only gallery in the Pacific Northwest specializing in collectible, heirloom-quality design and the only one exhibiting at the 2026 Seattle Art Fair amongst traditional fine art. The hottest clubs are the hardest to get into. Stop by Booth A17 in collaboration with the Pacific Bonsai Museum. If we let you in, just watch your hips….the dance floor is tight and full.🕺

Photo: @erik_sven_photography (Installation also features two of Erik’s images available for purchase)
Works of living art bonsai curated by 2026 Cultural Partner @PacificBonsaiMuseum

#seattleartfair #SeattleArtFair2026 #GeorgeNakashima #Nakashima #MiraNakashima #design #art #PacificBonsaiMuseum #BonsaiArt #bonsai #AmericanCraft taken in Lumen Field by @thencebydescent

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Mira Nakashima Conoid Coffee Table, 2017. Available. Inquire for details.

Photo: @erik_sven_photography taken in Seattle Art Museum Olympic Sculpture Park by @thencebydescent

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a year ago

Hand of the Artist: Architecture

I often reference Mira Nakashima’s description during my introduction of Nakashima works: “A Nakashima piece is a culmination of much effort, a conscious simplification of design that allows the wood to tell its own story, modulated by an architect’s eye for proportion and structure."

No other chair in the Nakashima portfolio illustrates the hand of the artist as an architect like the Conoid Chair. Designed in 1960 and inspired by and named after the Conoid Studio, this chair incorporates cantilever engineering. With a strong and precisely calculated connection at the anchored end where potential bending is greatest, the cantilevered seat transfers the weight load to those fixed uprights. Though once criticized as a "potentially catastrophic” design, the result is an extremely sturdy chair that has been in constant production since 1960…….AND with one of the most stunning profiles. The Conoid Chair’s daring yet elegant silhouette in this photo (a personal favorite) at the @seattleartmuseum Olympic Sculpture Park illustrates Nakashima’s architectural genius.

George Nakashima Conoid Chair, 1976. Available. Inquire for details.

Photo: @erik_sven_photography

#GeorgeNakashima #Nakashima #cantilever #JapaneseDesign #WoodDesign #handcrafted #Woodworking #FineWoodworking #sculpture #americancraft taken in Seattle Art Museum Olympic Sculpture Park by @thencebydescent

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Mira Nakashima Special Double Pedestal Desk with Asa-No-Ha Privacy Panel, 2010

@ElleDecor A Lister (and @petermarinoarchitect protege) Ernest de la Torre @delatorredesign commissioned @NakashimaWoodworkers to create this Double Pedestal Desk for a prominent Philadelphia client’s Gramercy Park pied-a-terre in New York. This desk is special as it incorporates a unique feature - an asa-no-ha privacy panel.

"I don't think we ever made any desk other than yours with [an] Asa-No-Ha Panel. One and only so far.” - George Nakashima Woodworkers

George describes the complexity of the asa-no-ha in his book the Soul of a Tree:

"The asa-no-ha, or hemp leaf, pattern is ever-present in Japanese design. In architecture, it has been used decoratively for delicate grilles on special shöji sliding doors, and as a sort of transom between rooms in traditional aristocratic houses with high ceilings. I have used the asa-no-ha in the design of sideboards, room dividers, bahuts (cupboards) and lamps. The joinery for the asa-no-ha is perhaps the most elegant and difficult of all. At a single point, 12 wood members converge…The joint produced appears simple, though it is most complicated structurally.” As illustrated in image 3, extreme precision is required to leave 1/32” of wood for this joinery!

Mira Nakashima Special Double Pedestal Desk with Asa-No-Ha Privacy Panel, 2010. NOTE: Panel is removable.
Available. Inquire for details.

#nakashima #miranakashima #georgenakashima #woodworking #americancraft #design #desk taken in Seattle, Washington by @thencebydescent

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Featured Nakashima Collector: The Obamas

During their time at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the Obamas partnered with Michael S. Smith @michaelsmithinc to design their White House private quarters. The result was a tasteful (ahem... unlike...) interior that was worldly, simultaneously elegant and relaxed, and included a Nakashima coffee table. Smith seamlessly integrated that table (NOTE: Modeled after the three Altars for Peace that act as ecumenical seeds of peace planted for all humankind in New York: The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Moscow, and Auroville, India) in the Solarium on the White House roof. (Image 2)

When the Obamas left the White House it appears that coffee table found a new home in Obama’s Washington office at The Obama Foundation. The table was prominently featured in the room during the July 2020 mini broadcast "President Obama and Vice President Biden: A Socially Distanced Conversation” just before the November elections. (Image 3)

And in this month’s @elledecor, we get to experience Smith’s encore in Obama’s private study within the Obama Presidential Center on Chicago’s South Side. Less confined by the history, architecture, and formality of the White House, Smith creates a space that perfectly reflects its inhabitant - sophisticated, welcoming, bright, modern, not shy. Again, he adds a custom piece of Nakashima, this time a Minguren II Coffee Table by @Nakashimawoodworkers. (Image 1)

Nakashima is embraced by many people…including the President of the United States.

Images 1 and 2: @themichaelmundy

#Nakashima #GeorgeNakashima #obamapresidentialcenter by @thencebydescent

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9 days ago

The Connaught Grill x Nakashima

Nakashima is no stranger to commercial retail spaces. Several fashion designers incorporate Nakashima works in their stores, including The Row, Thom Browne, Loewe, Frame, YSL, others. It is, however, rare to find Nakashima in commercial restaurants, especially at the level showcased in London’s The Connaught Grill (@theconnaught).

In 2020, Belfast-born businessman and founder of the Maybourne Hotel Group Paddy McKillen and architect designer John Heah reimagined the storied The Connaught Grill. Recognizing the project needed a very particular wow factor and McKillen’s standards to do it right with the best design and materials, Heah engaged Mira Nakashima @nakashimawoodworkers. McKillen did not resist the partnership as a fan and owner of a Nakashima bench.

The result is a 46-seat, American black walnut-clad dining room moonlighting as an exhibition space for Nakashima pieces which include classic Frenchman’s Cove Tables, less common Conoid Chairs with cushions and arms, and unique-to-the-space banquettes and sculptural wall panels. "I love these panels," says McKillen in a @Wallpapermag article. "The way they’ve been polished, cut and trimmed, the rawness and finesse, it’s a contradiction, like the most beautiful velvet."

If you’re in London and want to dine amongst trees that once grew in a Pennsylvania forest, experience The Connaught Grill. In line with the restaurant’s reputation for discretion, your visit will remain between us.

#Nakashima #GeorgeNakashima #theconnaughtgrill #theconnaught taken in The Connaught, Mayfair by @thencebydescent

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Battle of the Walnuts

As many know, my small 629 SF condo studio is staged as my gallery showroom. The petite space forces intimate moments like this overlap of Nakashima tabletops that display beautiful contrasts.

Most Nakashima designs are crafted in American black walnut. It is an abundant hardwood found in the Pennsylvanian forests. When seasoned and oiled properly, this walnut has a beautiful, rich, dark brown color accented by different shades of lighter, cream-colored sapwood edges. In contrast, and used less frequently, English walnut is lighter and often shows color variations in the form of darker brown patterns and streaks.

Which do you prefer? American black walnut or English walnut?

George Nakashima Conoid Coffee Table,1971 (American black walnut)
George Nakashima Special End Table,1960 (English walnut)
Available. Inquire for details.

#GeorgeNakashima #Nakashima #WoodDesign #wood #walnut #walnutwood taken in Seattle, Washington by @thencebydescent

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Preston Singletary
Tlingit Baskets (three works), 2018

When I moved from New York to Seattle in 2017, I was excited to acquire a piece of art that was specific to the region. Cue studio glass and Washington artist Preston Singletary @prestonsingletaryglass. His work features themes of transformation, animal spirits and shamanism in elegant blown glass forms and sand carved Tlingit designs. I purposely selected these three individual baskets to combine as a trio because of their connection through patterns, shapes, and rich colors. They are stunning together. Harmonious. (The very special charcoal colored basket with red lip is an atypical shallow bowl-like form.)

I’ve decided to part with the baskets to be enjoyed by the next custodian. They have coexisted beautifully amongst the Nakashima furniture in my gallery. The Tlingit baskets are currently available as part of @ragoauctions Contemporary Glass sale on September 17.

Images 1 and 2: Rago Auctions
Images 3 and 4: Preston Singletary Studio photos of blown glass Tlingit baskets in the design phase. Thin tape is meticulously applied prior to it being sandblasted to create the surface texture and design. And Ori, the Preston Singletary Studio 🐶 as a puppy.

#PrestonSingletary #Tlingit #Glassart #PNW #Blownglass taken in Seattle, Washington by @thencebydescent

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Seattle Public Library - Magnolia Branch

Event: Celebrating George Nakashima and the Magnolia Branch’s Collection

Thursday, September 17, 5:30 - 6:30PM

Join specialist Mark Tan and local photographer Erik Sven @Erik_Sven_Photography for a presentation with walkthrough that celebrates Washington native and 20th century design legend George Nakashima and the Magnolia Branch’s own collection.

Information
Seattle Public Library - Magnolia Branch
2801 34th Ave. W. , Seattle, WA 98199

Registration is not required.
Light refreshments provided.

The Magnolia Branch was designed by Pacific Northwest architect Paul Hayden Kirk in 1964.

@SeattlePublicLibrary #SeattlePublicLibrary #Seattle #GeorgeNakashima #Nakashima taken in Magnolia Branch of The Seattle Public Library by @thencebydescent

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LUXE Interior + Design SCENE Spotlight

Writer Lauren Gallow @desert.ren and @luxemagazine caught up with me for the latest September/October 2026 issue of Pacific Northwest LUXE Interior + Design magazine.

I appreciate the support from the design, architecture, and art communities of the PNW and beyond ❤️🙏🏻

Photos 1, 4, and 5: @erik_sven_photography

Image 2: Pacific Northwest LUXE Interior + Design Cover
Interior Design: @jenniegrussinteriordesign
Architecture: @hoedemakerpfeiffer
Home Builder: @mercerbuilders
Landscape Architect: @landmorphology
Photographer: @k7scott
Stylist:@jodilynndavis

Image 3: Pacific Northwest LUXE Interior + Design SCENE

#luxeathome #luxelife #pnwluxemagazine #GeorgeNakashima #Nakashima @NakashimaWoodworkers #PNW #RichardSerra #design #collectibledesign @jilleditsluxe taken in Seattle, Washington by @thencebydescent

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2 months ago

Life of a Piece of Nakashima.
George Nakashima Conoid Coffee Table, 1971

When was the last time you shared a story about your Restoration Hardware sofa? Every piece of Nakashima tells a story through its wood. And occasionally that story becomes more personal with an understanding of the piece’s provenance, its historical record of ownership. Whenever I acquire a piece of Nakashima for my gallery, I research and try to understand the work’s story and its life.

During my research for this 1971 George Nakashima Conoid Coffee Table, I discovered some wonderful in situ photos. The photos revealed the life the table had with a prominent Pennsylvania family. It enjoyed a life amongst fine antiques and beautiful artwork and had daily conversations with iconic, mid century Warren Platner designs. The table was not alone and had other Nakashima relatives nearby including a Kent Hall Lamp (Image 3) and a Double Minguren I Coffee Table (Image 6).

Imagine the parties this table experienced and the people it met.

George Nakashima Conoid Coffee Table, 1971
Available. Inquire for details.

#georgenakashima #nakashima #coffeetable #woodworking #americancraft #design #collectibledesign #interiordesign #warrenplatner #midcenturymodern taken in Seattle, Washington by @thencebydescent

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