Search

Friday Five with Matt Eastvold

Today’s Friday Five features Matt Eastvold of Eastvold Furniture, who started woodworking and welding at young age in his dad’s shop. He grew up on a farm in southern Minnesota, which fostered his passion for learning these trades. Eventually he headed to the city, in the thriving design community of Minneapolis, where he worked with a number of designers and architects on custom  projects. Today he lives in a small college  town in Minnesota called Northfield, where he and his wife Amanda grow their own food, kids. Eastvold builds honest and sturdy furniture which he sell through his own site as well as House&Hold with other like-minded contemporary designers.

1. David Salmela
David Salmela is a self-trained architect that I have admired for many years. In recent years, I have had the pleasure of spending time with him at his home in Duluth, Minnesota and to visit a number of his other buildings with him. This has given me an even greater appreciation for his thoughtful, stunning designs. There is a house that he designed, on restored prairie five miles from our shop, and I still get excited to drive by it on my way to the next town. This is how I feel about his designs; the newness never wears off for me.

2. The Cabrio Chair by Loll Designs
I like everything that comes from this Minnesota company, but if I had to choose my favorite . . . well the Cabrio has been at the top of my list for years. Not only does Loll Designs have remarkable outdoor furniture, but they are a remarkable company through and through. They are the best bunch of lollygaggers I know.

3. SAAB 900
My uncle has been a SAAB mechanic for longer than I have been alive, so I grew up to appreciate the quality and engineering that went into these cars. I’m on my fourth SAAB and I am finally driving my favorite model and year, a 1988 charcoal gray SAAB 900 SPG. It still has that tight feeling, even with 254,000 miles on it.

4. Twig iPhone Case
This is truly an incredible phone case that is customizable and by far the best case I’ve seen.  They are made from a very durable, sustainable compressed resin and paper material called Richlite and are available with either stock graphics or customized with your own design laser cut on the back. I first saw them this past spring and was anxiously awaiting the launch of the company. I bought one when they launched in July, and had the Eastvold logo laser cut onto the back. I am still impressed with the response it gets when I show people; there is definitely a want factor that I feel is the reaction that should come with anything well designed.

5. Grow Anthology Longboards
Long boards have become a popular mode of transportation these days, and my personal favorite comes from a company based in Olympia, Washington. The decks are also made from Richlite, and have a great feel and performance. Keep an eye on them—the owner Ben Roosa is doing a fantastic job with marketing and photography, and will soon be releasing a video.

Marni Elyse Katz is a Contributing Editor at Design Milk. She lives in Boston where she contributes regularly to local publications and writes her own interior design blog, StyleCarrot.