George Nakashima

The renowned woodworker George Nakashima (1905-1990) was born in Spokane, WA, and received his Masters in Architecture from MIT. During World War II, as a Japanese American, he was interned in a camp in Idaho where he learned carpentry from a Japanese master woodworker's trainee. After his release in 1945, Nakashima established his influential woodworking shop and studio in New Hope, Pennsylvania. He believed that the "character" or "spirit" of the tree should guide the design of his furniture, favoring unique, natural forms over mass-produced styles. His distinctive work gained patronage from figures like Nelson Rockefeller and is featured in major locations such as Columbia University and Carnegie Mellon University. Today, the enduring legacy of the Nakashima studio is continued by his daughter, Mira Nakashima.