Yard Sale Project

Ian Spencer and Cairn Young together make up Yard Sale Project, a unique force of talent changing the way in which wood can be assembled, manipulated, and carved into new, artistic designs. Through innovative and unprecedented techniques in woodworking, they create material-driven, one-off and small batch pieces of furniture that combine the unique design skills of Young with the making talents of Spencer. All Yard Sale Project items are made by the artists in their workshop and studio in South London.

When considering which timbers would complement each other, which would clash, and which were too similar, Yard Sale Project discovered that with enough variety, such considerations become redundant. Many timbers bring out an appreciation of each individual piece as opposed to their relation to one another. A chaotic mixture of woods becomes harmonious and balanced. Through both mathematical and artist mans, Yard Sale Project took to discovering how to make items of furniture without using the traditional construction techniques that tend to force a limited array of design possibilities. They hence developed the “Chaos Theory”, a construction technique that breaks free of traditional boundaries whilst still retaining an understanding of how to work with wood. Their rejection of tradition has crossed over into Yard Sale Project’s attitude to other materials, an example of which can be seen in their use of plastic plumbing pipes to make their chair Hepworth.

Submitted by Todd Merrill Studio