BCMT, Small Maple Board

Wood is perhaps the most ancient material, but innovation remains possible, as proven by the work of Joshua Vogel. Growing up in New Mexico in the 1970s offered lessons in the natural beauty of native trees; later, while exploring Australia, Haiti, and Europe, Vogel studied the vast variety of saplings and ancient trunks, each with their own unique grain and patina. After studying anthropology and art history at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, and architecture at the University of Oregon, Vogel moved to New York City and co-opened BDDW, a furniture and design company focusing on heirloom-quality, American-made work.

Soon, though, the woods called again, and he relocated to Kingston, New York. His new venture, Black Creek Mercantile & Trading Company, reimagines a 1917 factory building as a studio for furniture and sculpture. Hand-crafted from local woods including black walnut, sycamore, and maple, Vogel’s sculptures achieve a kind of Zen balance in their stacked forms, while his vessels often marry painstaking contours with natural splits in the grain. His accessories, often made over months on a lathe, look effortless, while his spoons are so elegant he could write a book on them—and, in fact, did, in 2015’s The Art of the Wooden Spoon: How to Make Exquisite Keepsakes for the Kitchen.