I was at a craft fair in the City last week-it was so beautiful and the simplicity was amazing. Considering my design style is more dramatic, this was just quiet and oh so pretty. I bought a
beautiful bowl by an amazing craftsman named
JAMES PRESTINI.
So today’s post is on his stunning work. Which today you can see interpreted from Pottery Barn to Williams and Sonoma.
James Prestini (1908-1993) was a woodworker who worked in the Bauhaus tradition; blending craft with function. Though he began his career as a mechanical engineer, studying at Yale University
and the University of Stockholm,
he also attended Chicago’s Institute of Design and was the Design Education Consultant to the German government in India and the USA.
From 1933-1953 he became most well known for his turned lathe bowls, so thin they appear to have qualities similar to that of glass or ceramics. He also produced experimental furniture and over 400 sculptures over a 50 year career
while a professor of fine arts at the University of California, Berkeley.
House of Turquoise