Michael James Moran News

Walnut Table Runners!

Michael Moran — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 02:58:59 +0000

If you have received this issue of Garden & Gun, you will see the new Black Walnut Table Runners featured. They are already finding good homes across the country! For the best pictures check out the magazine…here are a few rough shots to wet the appetite…

For more info, download the Summer Catalog on the main site, or feel free to contact me if you are interested!

Bourbon Crate!

Michael Moran — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 02:35:23 +0000

Many thanks to Garden & Gun magazine for giving me the opportunity to create an 8 bottle bourbon crate for some of Pappy Van Winkle’s best! It was recently auctioned off at a G&G event in Atlanta. Check out the party pics and bourbon crate!
Many thanks to Peyton Avrett for the amazing metal work on the crate!

Southern Living

admin — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 21:58:57 +0000

I just wanted to give a big thanks to Southern Living Magazine. If you look at this months issue under the ‘Made by Southern Hands’ section, there may be a familiar looking lamp…

Spoleto Auction

admin — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 06:11:05 +0000

Tonight is the Spoleto Auction! I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to donate this piece for the live auction…hopefully all goes well!

Season’s Greetings from Michael Moran & Furniture Friends

Michael Moran — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 15:41:10 +0000

I had a blast making this holiday video with Fuzzco the other week. See if you can count just how many different kinds of wood we used in the 4-minute clip. Ah, the sweet smell of sawdust. Happy holidays!

What is “Modern” Now?

Michael Moran — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 19:07:20 +0000

I’ve been mulling over something I read on Huffington Post last month, an op-ed piece by House Beautiful editor Stephen Drucker in the wake of Metropolitan Home’s closing announcement. He makes the point that the battle over “traditional” style vs. “hip” trends is getting tired, and that design now should “not just [be] the lone-chair-in-an-empty-room stories in the T section of The New York Times; it’s about the dynamic, original thinking going on across the working design community every day.” I thought I’d flesh my thoughts on the issue: where are we going in “modern” design?

The use of the word “modern” can become a bit of a tricky one, especially when referring to art and design. It has academic and colloquial definitions that are not necessarily consistent with each other. However, Drucker’s use of “modern” and his evaluations of the direction of design I think are quite apt.

There seems to be a conflicting cycle of what is “hip” becoming mainstream, as Druker speaks out against. By becoming mainstream, I argue, it intrinsically is no longer hip. I think this is a valid point to be examined, especially by those in the “modern” and “cutting edge” scene. How much responsibility does the media in this world have to present what is truly new and may be the “biggest geek” versus what is being supported and selling at the current time?

We also live in a world where so many styles have come and passed that it is almost impossible to come up with something that is truly new and does not beg, borrow, or steal from its predecessors. For this reason, I agree wholeheartedly with Drucker that there exists “modern” thinking in some many different areas that are all too often overlooked because they don’t fit the assumed aesthetic. As we are finding with the current “green” movement, it is sometimes the process and approach that are “modern,” not necessarily the end product.

I am saddened to see Met Home go under, and I do not wish that fate on any publication. I hope that out of these difficulties positives will come for those who are still running. I hope the constant search for what will be the new “modern” is revitalized and is color blind to our previous constructs and categories.

*All images from my recent show at Rebekah Jacob Gallery in Charleston. Images courtesy Kevin Hoth.

Holiday Trees!

admin — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 04:00:21 +0000

Today I purchased two trees that I’m very excited about. It has been a habit of my family, and now of my own, to get live trees to keep in the house to celebrate the holidays. This year I’m proud to say that my “Christmas Tree(s)” are a Dawn Redwood and a Japanese Cedar. The Redwood is about 7′ tall and the Cedar is only about a foot tall, both with lots of growing to do. Both are very beautiful! I don’t think I could be more excited! Photos to come…

New Kiln In Progress at Meeting Street Workshop

Michael Moran — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:29:31 +0000

Not your ordinary shipping container….

Nope, it’s my new homemade kiln for drying wood. The fans are wired, and I’m setting solar panels today. Up next, two inches of foam spray insulation and a painted black exterior. Big ups to Eco-Bilt for helping with the installation. I think it’s pretty cool: the entire kiln will solar powered and completely self-sufficient!

Watch the Magic: Milling Oak Logs

Michael Moran — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:55:49 +0000

I’m proud to be involved with a site-specific building project with Byers Design, a Charleston-based architecture and land planning firm. We’re currently in the first phases of constructing a single-family residence on a large, heavily wooded site that aims to be as green as possible, first by situating the home on the lot while cutting down as few trees as we can. Last week I went out to the site of The Beech House with Larry of Larry’s Portable Saw Mill to turn tree trunks into lumber. Take a look:

For more on the projected house, see the Byers Design blog. And of course, check back here for more updates!

More Himalayan Cedars…

admin — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 03:38:02 +0000

Just a couple pics of more Himalayan Cedar logs soon to be milled!