Did you know? Peter Harrison builds art-inspired furniture out of concrete, metal and wood in his studio a few miles outside of Saratoga Springs, N.Y. His Lavassa Line has been his business since he graduated from RIT with a degree in woodworking and furniture design in 1996. Peter is a daily Uncommon Grounds home-brewer who claims he’s a “House (Blend) Man” – starting every day off with a couple of cups of our coffee at home. We recently visited his impressive work-studio to find out about his work, what it was like to build his studio from ground up, and how he finds customers in a sea of over-exposure to media and advertising.

Uncommon Grounds (UG) : Tell us about the inspiration behind your work.

Peter Harrison (PH) : I am inspired by modern materials and have developed a language of construction based on the materials. I use this language to push the limits of furniture. My goal is to create a beautiful piece of furniture which is fresh and intriguing.

UG : What brought you to Saratoga Springs?

PH : My wife and I love the town and it is almost perfectly between our families who live in New York City and Potsdam.

UG : When did you end up in this particular location?

PH : We closed on this place in January 2007. The week we closed we got 30 inches of snow. I didn’t know how much oil was in the oil tank so it was like “Okay, let’s figure out how to do this!”, searching frantically to get someone to snow plow – worried that the house was going to freeze up. We broke ground that April for the studio which was crucial because for me to live here I need to be able to build my work. So I spent 2007 commuting to my old shop in the Hudson Valley and building the studio here. I did most of the construction on the building myself save for excavation, concrete, insulation and drywall but everything else was pretty much me. I got my Certificate of Occupancy in January 2008 and moved February 1st, 2008. In two-and-a-half days we moved 40,000 pounds of equipment. It was pretty brutal; tough days. So by April 1st I was set up and building work.

Peter assembling prototype new work.

UG : How do you sell your work? Is it in stores anywhere?

PH : I’m generally represented by about ten stores and galleries across the country, including Sundari Fine Art in Saratoga Springs. I do high-end craft shows where you rent space at a convention center for three or four days. I do about four of those per year. Upcoming this spring I have one in Baltimore, MD which is the American Craft Council show. Then I have one in (Washington) DC which is the Smithsonian Craft Show which is a hard one to get in to but I’ve been fortunate to get in the last two years.

UG : What is difficult about getting into the Smithsonian show? Is it a crazy application process?

PH : It’s very competitive, same old application but a lot of people apply to it and it is only 100 or so exhibitors.

UG : That sounds like great exposure for your work. What are your ideal customers like?

PH : I need two things to find clients. I need people who love the work and people who can afford to pay a couple thousand dollars for a piece of furniture. Finding them both together has always been a difficult thing, so selling nationally has been important.

UG : I can imagine. What other ways do you connect with customers and potential customers?

PH : I do a design show in New York City called the ICFF, which is the International Contemporary Furniture Fair. This one happens every May. I’ve also been advertising in the back of Dwell Magazine.

UG : Oh, wow! How has that been for you since magazines have been seemingly going the way of the dinosaur?

PH : It was really good my first couple of years, and then last year it wasn’t as good. I think it might have crested. I don’t think it’s all about the (bad) economy. It’s definitely a changing world on a lot of levels right now. For me it’s really important to be riding the wave and not being washed by the wave. I’m into looking to see the new directions and bringing my work along for the ride.

Corrupt companies beware! Laura is on your case!

Uncommon Grounds (UG): Where are you originally from?

Laura Northrup (LN): I’m from Baldwinsville, NY, which is outside of Syracuse.

UG: Did you go to college out there and what did you study?

LN: I went to Hamilton College, near Utica. I studied English literature and French, and I spent half of my junior year in France. Mostly reading every newspaper I could get my hands on and eating pastries.

UG: How did you end up in Albany?

LN: I moved here five years ago for grad school at UAlbany, and I liked it here enough to stay. I went there to study archives, but switched tracks and prepared to become an academic librarian instead.

UG: What are some of your favorite things about Albany?

LN: I like how Albany is livable and interesting, but not too expensive. When I get bored with Albany, there are a lot interesting places within day-trip distance. Also, compared to where I’m from, the weather isn’t that bad.

UG: How did you land the Consumerist gig?

LN: I worked as a news researcher at the Times Union until last spring. Part of my job was screening voice mails for the Advocate, their consumer affairs column. After a while, I started writing blog posts to go alongside the column. I loved doing that, and my regular archiving and research work too, but I lost my job in the Great Mediapocalypse of ‘08.

The week before my last day Consumerist announced that they were looking for an assistant editor to screen their e-mail and post now and then. There may have been divine intervention involved in this. My TU colleagues made me apply, and I was lucky enough to get the job.

UG: What does your work for Consumerist entail?

LN: I’m responsible for writing six posts every day, Wednesday through Sunday. I also screen our tipline, which receives maybe 100-150 e-mails per day. I answer the emails and pick stories that I think would make interesting posts for the site. We get a mix of everything, from links to news articles to people’s own consumer horror stories.

UG: Any juicy stories coming up?

LN: Well, have you seen the frogs they’re selling at Brookstone?

UG: [...]

LN: I’m working this week on something about the Frog-O-Sphere that they’re pushing as a holiday gift at Brookstone. It’s supposed to be a self-contained habitat for a dwarf frog, a plant, and some snails, and I’m checking into whether this is actually a healthy environment for the critters.

Prototype coffee sweater by Hamsterdam HandKnits

UG: Oh, how bizarre. Looking forward to seeing how that turns out! So, tell us about your knitting…

LN: My mom has always tried to get me to knit, but it never caught me until maybe last year or so. I like to make hats because once you finish a hat, unlike socks and mittens, you don’t have to make another one.. I am working on coffee sweaters (see pic, left) which seem to be popular on Etsy right now.

UG: Hmmm… interesting! Perhaps this is something that UG could carry? Anyway, where do you see all of your work taking you?

LN: I’m not sure. This is a totally unique job that I never expected to find myself in, and I love it. Right now I’m just appreciating that I have a job at all, and I love having a job where I can help and educate people, advocate for consumers, and look for pictures of kittens on the Internet.

UG: (*Laughs*) Well, then! OK, to close it out here, could you share an anecdote about what Uncommon Grounds is to you?

The nice thing about being a professional blogger is also that I can work pretty much anywhere. I live nearby and I always know that I can come here to work, get out of the house, people-watch, and consume large quantities of caffeine in a comfortable space. My home office is okay, but it doesn’t have a giant coffee roaster in it. And the artwork here is way nicer.