Interview about Weaving Wood Cabinet, winner of the A' Furniture Design Award 2025
Weaving Wood Cabinet is a trapezoidal walnut cabinet featuring three side panels constructed from a woven walnut veneer textile. The weaving density varies across the surface, producing a subtle gradient in texture. This manual process, not achievable through mechanical means, combines the structural rigidity of wood with the pliability of textile. When exposed to sunlight, the surface casts layered shadows, and the alignment of the wood grain contributes to a consistent visual rhythm.
View detailed images, specifications, and award details on A' Design Award & Competition website.
View Design DetailsMy work often centers around wood, and while learning the technique of bent lamination, I was introduced to veneer. I became intrigued by this paper-thin yet remarkably resilient material and began exploring its possibilities through a variety of experimental methods. These included cold bending, steam bending, laser cutting, sewing, vacuum lamination, and combining veneer with textiles and fabrics.For instance, I tried stitching veneer to different types of cloth, as well as sewing veneer pieces together on their own. One of these explorations, where veneer strips were woven together with cotton thread to create a textile-like material, eventually led to the development of this cabinet.
This piece is inspired by the technique itself—the essence of the material lies in blending two contrasting elements, wood and thread, into a single textile-like surface. The result is a semi-rigid, partially soft material that explores the balance between opposites. Every design decision was made to enhance this sense of harmony and seamless integration.The cabinet’s panels, for example, are woven with a gradient density to create a smooth transition between the textile surface and the solid wooden frame. The same approach is applied across all surfaces: the top uses lighter walnut boards, arranged from light to dark, moving from top to bottom. The woven panels also follow a gradient—from warm orange to deep brown—echoing the natural tones of walnut.All these design choices work together to create a cohesive and balanced visual language. As the viewer approaches the cabinet, they’ll notice a surprise: the walnut is also woven into the panels. This unexpected discovery invites touch, encouraging tactile interaction. For furniture, this physical connection is essential. Users don’t just see it, they feel it, and in that moment, the object reveals its true material poetry.
Creating this woven wood panel didn’t require highly precise calculations, but it did involve hands-on craftsmanship. I collaborated with an experienced textile partner, Huining Liu, who wove the panels by hand on a loom. This material can only be handmade, and one of its key advantages is that you can physically feel the tension of each line during the weaving process, allowing for immediate adjustments if it becomes too loose.To maintain consistent tension, the wood veneer strips are limited to a maximum width of 3/8 inch. Varying widths can lead to an uneven fabric, so we typically use similar width strips in one area. Wider veneer tends to loosen the weave and can’t be placed too closely together, as this would result in slack tension.As for sizing, we found that the final panel tends to shrink slightly once removed from the loom. Since the wood can’t stretch like traditional textiles, we addressed this by adding a wider serged edge around the woven panel. This not only compensates for the shrinkage but also allows the piece to fit securely within the cabinet frame.
First, I completed the 3D model on the computer, ensuring that every section requiring a channel was accurately built into the design with the correct dimensions and positions. Some of the more complex channel structures involved two or even three panels at once. To prevent errors, I carefully planned the cutting and assembly sequence for each component before starting. Since the cabinet has a trapezoidal form, i did a slight deviation in the angle of one edge, and it caused that panel to be remade. The process demanded a high degree of precision throughout. Each panel required a channel around its edges for secure fitting. For the side panels, I used a table saw to cut the channels along the outer edges. However, when the channel didn’t run through the entire surface, I used a horizontal mortising drill to cut it precisely. Each step demanded accurate alignment with the previous segment’s edge, which made this part particularly complex.The back panel also required internal channels. In this case, not only did the outer edges need to align correctly, but the channels between adjacent boards had to match precisely as well. This involved carefully calculating the distance between panels and the exact length of each edge to ensure both the seams and channels would align seamlessly after assembled.
During the initial material tests, I discovered the woven veneer’s unique light-filtering quality and decided to preserve it as a key feature. This subtle translucency brings a sense of breathability and lightness to the piece, softening the visual weight of the dark wood. To highlight this effect, I maximized the surface area covered by the woven panels and added an additional one at the back of the cabinet. This allows light to pass through from multiple angles, gently illuminating the interior and the objects within.
This collaboration was truly valuable, as her expertise in textiles greatly contributed to the making process. In furniture design, it’s essential to consider the properties of the textile being used. For example, since this fabric was entirely handwoven, its dimensions were naturally limited by the size of the loom, something I wouldn’t have thought of on my own. I believe the intersection of furniture and textile holds tremendous potential—not only in the traditional sense of upholstery, like sofas and chairs, where fabric is an inherent component—but also in more experimental ways. As people explore textile more widely, it becomes more than just cloth. It can be an elastic fiber made from recycled plastic, a surface material crafted from balloon flower bark, leather, paper, or even plant-based elements. In this sense, textile opens up a wide range of possibilities in furniture design, offering new directions for both function and form.
The choice to use a vintage-inspired trapezoidal form was intentional, as most modern cabinets are simple rectangular boxes, and trapezoidal shapes have become quite rare. By adopting this form, I aimed to enhance the cabinet’s uniqueness. Additionally, the angled sides allow more of the side panels to be visible from the front, creating a sense of visual balance.
I believe that material innovations like this will gradually become more common in the furniture design industry, especially as sustainability becomes a greater priority. In the Weaving Wood Cabinet, veneer served as the primary focus of my material exploration. After completing this piece, I dedicated significant time to researching new ways of working with veneer—such as sewing techniques, combining it with fabric, and experimenting with different shaping methods.To me, this work represents not only the beginning of my own journey into the possibilities of veneer, but also an important step in expanding the role of veneer within contemporary furniture design. By transforming veneer into a textile-like material and integrating it into a finished piece of furniture, this cabinet stands as a pioneering example of woven veneer application in furniture design.
First, I begin by sorting the walnut boards by color. After getting the material, I roughly cut each board to its intended size and then arrange them according to their shade. The lightest pieces are used for the upper parts of the cabinet, while the darker ones are placed toward the bottom, creating a subtle gradient from light to dark across the entire piece.Each walnut board also has a unique grain pattern, so during assembly, I carefully consider the direction of the grain when selecting and positioning each piece. I decide which side faces up, which section to trim, and how to align the boards. It was almost like assembling a puzzle. So that even up close, the wood grain appears continuous and visually harmonious.
I believe that in this project, the material innovation is not something that immediately draws attention. At first glance, it simply appears to be a cabinet. Only upon closer inspection does one realize that what seems like fabric is actually woven wood. This subtlety is what I find most compelling. The innovation isn’t used as a gimmick to grab attention, but rather integrated thoughtfully so that both functionality and material quality are fully expressed.From a distance, it reads as a functional cabinet. Up close, through touch, the hidden surprise of the material reveals itself. I think when different aspects of a design can be discovered at different distances, when each layer holds its own presence, that’s a sign of great balance in design.
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