Italian artisan Andrea Brugi creates handmade, organically shaped pieces that are both rustic and refined, using ancient felled wood he finds on his family's rambling farm.
Brugi's shop is located just outside the town of Montemeramo, in the picturesque Tuscan countryside. Inside his studio, centuries-old tree stumps litter the floor, rafters rescued from a local church sit on a workbench, and gnarled pieces of timber decorate the walls. From out of these humble pieces of wood, Brugi creates one-of-a-kind tables, chairs, and cutting boards. Carved with elegant curves and planed into smooth surfaces, his creations are both meticulously crafted yet seem to have grown naturally out of the surrounding landscape—which is exactly his intention. "I never decide how a piece should look," he says. "It is the grain and shape of the piece of wood that determines the final result."
Photography by Ditte Isager; styling by Christine Rudolph.
Above: Andrea Brugi in his workshop.
Above: Brugi's Cutting Boards come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and woods, but all carry a light scent of the olive oil they've been soaked in for days; from €50.
Above: A selection of Brugi's salt dishes.
Above: Delicate enough to grace a living room, yet also suited for a perch outside, this bench is a solid piece of reclaimed oak set on chestnut legs; €450.
Above: Brugi carved this stately one-off chair from a piece of a 200-year-old elm tree. For purchasing information, contact Andrea Brugi.
Above: Brugi at work in his wood shop.