A Message from Jim Massa

I have been designing and building furniture for over three decades. Fascinated by wood's inherent ability to bend and produce strong, flowing forms, I have been experimenting with bending wood since the mid 80's. My journey into furniture making was driven by necessity, as I began building small pieces for my own use during college. This eventually grew into a passion for designing and building unique pieces that are beautiful as well as functional. Inspired by my architectural training during college, my designs bear influences from artists, such as Finnish architect Alvar Aalto, as well as Charles Eames and Michael Thonet, long recognized as pioneers in bentwood design.

I have observed that we live in a built environment of straight lines and right angles, both of which our bodies are void. But in the more micro environment, furniture and the things with which we come into contact seem to be more fluid, mimicking the human form. Thus, the challenge for me has been to design unique furniture that fuses the built environment and the human form into a design with the right lines.