Working out of a shop in Union City, N.J., Christopher Miano found a profitable niche making everything from custom furniture on commission to decorative props for photographers. But when Covid struck and work got tight, Miano decided to build a line of speculative furniture, aiming to blend sculptural ideas with good craftsmanship. “I wanted to design something that lightened the mood in that difficult time,” he says, “something that would bring a smile to your face—and make you wonder how it was made.” With his suite of squiggly furniture, whose serpentine shapes are sawn from the solid and routed round, he’s done just that.

—Jonathan Binzen

Photos: Joseph Kramm

From Fine Woodworking #297

	Carving with conflict Alexander Grabovetskiy infuses his work with allegory about the conflicts of his life.
	The bowl is a bird Dave Fisher turned a branch into a bowl, and a bowl into a wren.
	Betty Scarpino’s inner journey Betty Scarpino’s turned pieces are explorations of what lies beneath the surface.