Michael Todd Smith breathes new life into old and discarded materials, creating something new and surprising. He mixes his sense of the historical value of reclaimed wood with his knowledge and skill of working with metal. Michael is a 30-year-old furniture designer and custom fabricator who graduated from DePaul University in 2004 with a degree in sculpture. Michael’s interaction with clients goe
s from concept to drawing to finished product. Each step requires continuous problem solving, ingenuity and innovation. Craftsmanship and traditional techniques are important to Michael. He chooses to work not only with sustainable materials, but also with products that have an everlasting and timeless image. In his own furniture collection, Michael brings an asymmetrical perspective to traditional design, reinventing the rules of balance, form and function. He believes that quality equates strong materials, sensible design & flawless craftsmanship. He makes a variety of domestic objects that incorporate a mixture of materials like indigenous reclaimed wood and repurposed stone, glass and steel. In addition, Michael produces custom-designed furniture for designers, residential homeowners and commercial instillations. Recently, he began making custom hand forged brackets, door pulls, handles, accessories and hardware. Michael’s most recent line of products, presents a new vocabulary of furniture, forming a more personal interaction between the consumer, the product and the designer. By questioning the nature of the materials and how they work together, each piece of furniture becomes a unique functional finished product. He is constantly re-inventing approaches to his materials. Currently he is working on a new line of products that seamlessly combines wood and metal. He uses kiln-dried wood indigenous to the Chicago area. Extending his knowledge of materials and finishing, he has been experimenting with oxidizing patterns and imagery on steel. His work is sold at boutiques and stores in and around Chicago, directly through his website and at his studio by appointment. His furniture has been featured in publications including Oprah’s O at Home Magazine, Luxe Home Magazine and 1stdibs.
