Richard Haining is an artist and studio furniture maker committed to the intersection of sustainable design and fine craft. Raised in Atlanta, GA, and educated at the Rhode Island School of Design, Richard resides and works in Brooklyn NY since 2008.
Early on, he was taught that if you don't like what you're given, learn to make it better. He learned to garden, because the taste of a warm home-grown tomato fresh off the vine cannot be found at a grocery store. He learned to cook, because gathering for a home cooked meal creates community and fosters lasting relationships. And in this era of disposable design, he creates objects with the intention of permanence, and always with a reverence for the materials he chooses to use.
Richard finds inspiration in the abundance of wood being discarded throughout NYC, from woodshop offcuts to old growth lumber scrapped from the pre-war buildings of NYC's architectural landscape. This “waste” has become the building blocks of his signature STACKED Collection.
These STACKED forms are created by hand stacking thousands of individual of pieces of this salvaged wood. They are built similar to a coiled ceramic pot, or an analog 3d printer. Piece by individual piece of wood, layer upon layer, the shape is revealed. Once constructed, the exterior is refined by hand, creating a honed surface with subtle variations unique to the piece. This varied palette is part of this material’s unique history, a fingerprint of time passed, something to be celebrated and only achieved through reclamation.
Richard’s work has been featured in numerous shows, exhibitions and galleries from NYC to Seoul, South Korea. His artworks and furniture pieces are displayed within private collections across the globe. He has received the Award of Excellence for Innovation in Craft from the James Renwick Alliance, the People’s Choice Award from the Rhode Island School of Design, and has been featured in a variety of national publications.