I received a lovely e-mail from Lucas Martins back in January when I asked him about the tension table after writing an article about his sweep table. Rather than paraphrase him I’ve just copied what he said here as he explains it so well.

“Thank you so much for your support, and for featuring my table on your blog, which is really great by the way, don’t stop! As far as the Tension table goes, that was a school project in which we had to design and build a table in one week. I tried to make something that evoked a sense of instability while being well-crafted. The plywood and ratchet straps were a nod to moving crates, and the whole table is held together by the tension of these straps. Additionally the “shipping” theme has a base in reality since the table has a low profile when disassembled and could be shipped easily compared to other tables. My favorite feature of the table is that since the table is made of several different components, customers can easily request different styles and sizes of legs, sides, or top to fit their decor. The pieces could be sent back in exchange for new pieces, and the returned pieces could be refurbished into a new table: less waste and more personal customization.”

When I wrote the article about Lucas Martin’s Sweep table I said that I wished  that I could see it with flowers and my wish was granted. It’s certainly one of the most popular tables that I’d ever posted. When you see  the vases filled, the feeling of them being drips that could drop is accentuated, could you get any more poetry out of one design?

Lucas Martin has achieved that wonderful balance between expressiveness, the manufacturing process and the end user. I’d love to see a photo with flowers in the vases. He’s recently qualified and looking for employment. Hopefully for the design world he won’t be waiting long.