GEORGE NAKASHIMA
George Katsutoshi Nakashima was born in 1905 in Spokane, WA. Trained as an
architect at the University of Washington and Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, he first began furniture-making ventures in India, Japan, and
Seattle, WA. Through the sponsorship of Antonin Raymond, he was released from
the internment camps in the Idaho desert and founded his workshop in Bucks
County about 1945.
Believing in the integration of a personal and professional life, Nakashima
began his business as a one-man shop and continued to operate on this principle
throughout his career. He developed an international reputation and received
many important commissions for buildings and furnishings for churches, corporate
headquarters and private homes. A master craftsman, he created a distinctive
style of furniture that gave "a second life" to the trees he loved so much.
Nakashima received numerous awards, including the Gold Craftsmanship Medal of
the American Institute of Architects (1952).
At any given time, the Nakashima Workshop employs a dozen or so workers,
including family members. Nakashima's daughter, Mira, who received degrees in
architecture from Harvard University and Waseda University in Tokyo, worked as
his assistant designer for 20 years and took over the task of producing
backlogged orders after his death in 1990. Since then, as head of the Nakashima
Studio, she has experimented with new forms, collaborating with other architects
and developing new work such as the "Keisho" group.
George Katsutoshi Nakashima was born in 1905 in Spokane, WA. Trained as an
architect at the University of Washington and Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, he first began furniture-making ventures in India, Japan, and
Seattle, WA. Through the sponsorship of Antonin Raymond, he was released from
the internment camps in the Idaho desert and founded his workshop in Bucks
County about 1945.
Believing in the integration of a personal and professional life, Nakashima
began his business as a one-man shop and continued to operate on this principle
throughout his career. He developed an international reputation and received
many important commissions for buildings and furnishings for churches, corporate
headquarters and private homes. A master craftsman, he created a distinctive
style of furniture that gave "a second life" to the trees he loved so much.
Nakashima received numerous awards, including the Gold Craftsmanship Medal of
the American Institute of Architects (1952).
At any given time, the Nakashima Workshop employs a dozen or so workers,
including family members. Nakashima's daughter, Mira, who received degrees in
architecture from Harvard University and Waseda University in Tokyo, worked as
his assistant designer for 20 years and took over the task of producing
backlogged orders after his death in 1990. Since then, as head of the Nakashima
Studio, she has experimented with new forms, collaborating with other architects
and developing new work such as the "Keisho" group.