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There is something surreal and captivating about the way a piece of wood can be molded and shaped by its maker into something unique and transfiguring. The way the creator captures an image in their mind and can make that image come to life right in front of them, even before they begin. The carpenter has pre-existed in biblical times and has always been a grounding and truly magical artisan.
A hands-on kind of work that has been molded by man throughout the centuries from the carvings of ivory, jade, and bronze across Japan, Egypt, and Greece-which were inspired by mythological tradition, to the transference into a gothic style founded in Germany, with the introduction of stunning limewood carvings. In the whirlwind of the ever-growing designs of the modern world, however, the carpenter has returned to the simplicity of the wood. Oak is a common material sourced and was revived as early as the 17th century. Since this revival, the style of wood has been captured as chip carvings, relief with soft and hardwoods. Oak, Mahogany, walnut, elm, limewood, chestnut, ebony, boxwood, cedar, cypress, olive, teak, and pine are amongst the principal wood types used today.
Commercially wood has been used as technology has advanced to be mass-produced and meet popular demand and has as a result lost in itself a sense of uniqueness, wonder, and artistic design. Yet, there are some incredible hidden gems set apart from the mass-produced products of today.
Dane Bakarich, the founder of Hush Furniture, has always possessed that foregone insight into shaping the material into something incredible. Like many of the entrepreneurs of our day, the business he now passionately runs began in a garage at home around 6 or 7 years ago. Desiring to bring to life his ideas, he had bought some tools and began some DIY projects.
Korra Cot - " Designed in collaboration with boutique baby brand Audrey & Me.
The cot is designed with a range of features to help grow with your child. The mattress has two height options, the front panel can be removed to allow toddlers the ability to get out without assistance. Alternatively, all four walls can be removed, transforming the cot into a daybed/lounge.
The cot can be made to two specifications; lifestyle and heirloom. The heirloom option feature exposed traditional joinery whereas the lifestyle option uses modern woodworking machines and techniques. Both options use threaded inserts and bolts for assembly. " source Hush Furniture
What began as a simple and pleasurable hobby, became popular requests from family and friends, and as the word spread, so did the demand for his skills and time. It wasn't until three years ago that Dane quit his full-time job to pursue a career in furniture. He went from his backyard garage to the large 250 m square workshops in the Southern Highlands, which is dedicated to the furniture they would professionally require to service their customers well.
Dane and his small team of carpenters successfully run a business called Hush Furniture, a small boutique workshop specialising in bespoke furniture and architectural joinery. Everything maintains that hands-on specialty; everything is designed and crafted by hand. The full expression of Hush Furniture is focused and inspired by mid-century to minimalism, Scandinavian to Japanese influences. They design and craft pieces to act as an expression of the taste and values that are articulated by their clients.
The goal is to create a piece that adds an aesthetic scene to the space the clients desire to fill. They use the tagline ‘Fine Lifestyle Furniture,’ to create pieces of furniture that will enhance and perpetuate the lifestyle of their clients, building simple or complex Scandinavian-influenced and other culturally timeless pieces. The desire is to build exquisite furniture that is curated for a space to improve the lifestyle and outlook of the home or the place it sits in.
Hush Furniture is not just a staple of a history of carpentry but it is focused on quality and detail, not quantity and cheap production, Dane also adapts his works to the ever-growing aesthetic drive of the culture and times. This genius move establishes Hush as a key instrument for change, whilst maintaining quality & tradition.
Currently, Hush’s most popular pieces are the masterpieces that encapsulate that hidden wonder of carpentry. The Wroxham Bedside and NCM Woven Wooden bench seats are amongst their most aesthetically pleasing and sought after pieces.
The Wroxham bedside is a contemporary design made with fluted drawers and exposed joinery. The hand tools and machinery to make this heirloom joinery is combined with the finest technology to create the complex and high-quality drawer runners, making the piece beautiful and loved for generations. Made of American Walnut, the bridle joints offer the desired customised outlook for such a unique and staple piece of architecture.
The handwoven seats on the other hand are made from the imported paper cord from Europe and handwoven onto timber. When Dane is not working in his studio with Andrew & his father designing, sanding, or carving, you can find him on the couch at home watching Masterchef with his wife and weaving the seats by hand as he watches. The woven bench is a 6-7 hour project and if made as a batch, the cost of production is reduced significantly.
From a long line of woods and metal types, the carpenter always has a variety of materials to work with which varies depending on the type of project. For Dane, as a carpenter, it's the quality of the product and the time, attention, and detail that goes into each product as if it were going into their own home, that makes their products stand out. They source their materials and supplies from across Sydney and they stock traditional oak, walnut, maple, cherry, class, leather, rattan, and other materials.
The Loom Bench seat - from $ 990 -" With minimalist details and time-honoured techniques. The Loom bench seat has been one of our best sellers in recent years. Perfect at the foot of a bed or in a hallway." source Hush Furniture
The process of making a bench seat or Wroxham Bedside is not about how quickly it can be produced, but how much detail and attention goes into the mastering of such a magnificent piece of wood; this is where the wonder is instilled.
The Dao, Paddington - with a custom reception unit in walnut
Hush works directly with architects and interior designers, such as Madden Studio, to design an outlay that doesn't just satisfy their customers and meet their needs but will transform the room it sits into something of a gallery of fines and cultural influence. This in turn instils a sense of belonging articulating an aesthetic luxury that is considerable and accommodating. The process of the design is extensive and can take hours to ensure the client is satisfied with the product design. Nothing is rushed and they gauge the stylistic preferences, dimensions, profiles ad shapes first, before stenciling and drawing the design with pencil, incorporating fresh and new features as well as some borrowed elements from other pieces if necessary.
Dane's greatest asset in his works, the signature element that makes Hush a splendid and pleasing brand to have in your office or home, is the orientation of the timber grain. As a carpenter being timber grain conscious of how the timber works and moves are important to the overall finish of the pieces worked upon. Two tables in essence can be made from the same material, but without the care and careful orientation of the timber grain, it could cause the end design to look busy or muddled. Whereas orienting the timber offers a clean and fine finish, a work to be proud of as it sits in your dining room or office on display. Dane has an arsenal of techniques up his sleeve to pinpoint what customers and businesses are looking for and he is not afraid to use them.
The carpenter at the heart of Dane and his team has adapted to the new and changing times, transfiguring new modern ideals into a custom piece of furniture that encapsulates the art of the artisan. It demonstrates Hush's commitment to quality with a tangible manifestation of the unique approach to spaces and identity. Each piece is a spokesman of the values and philosophy of its time, situation, location, and culture behind the intricate joinery and carvings.
Dane used these one-of-a-kind creations in recent successful business ventures in 2020 residing in the lower North Shore fitting out the shop in Mosman, The Accoutrerment
including pieces such as display cabinets and service content feature walls, which offered a new window into the world of their luxury-focused style and artisan for all to see. This extended project increased the exposure to the delightful and transformative works of Hush, bringing in more customers than ever before over the past two years.
The Accoutrerment, Mosman
Hush was also featured in the Australian Wood Review, highlighting the uniqueness of the brand which ushered in a new awareness for not just the business itself and its growing market but also showcasing the lost love and beauty of the carpenter and his workmanship.
For your bespoke piece of furniture contact Hush Furniture direct https://www.hushfurniture.com.au/contact
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