Carlos Motta

I love this desk by Carlos Motta, which looks like it’s been partially drilled into the floor. It’s not one of his newer works, but it’s a sample of the expansive and non-stop imagination that this Brazilian furniture crafter and architect has hidden up his sleeve. His rocking chair, the Astúrias, starred in last month’s Brasilia Design Expo and is masterly constructed with wood planks joined together to form a solid panel of the chair connected to the rocking base. It’s rustic in a modern way and altogether pretty neat even if placed inside an apartment in the middle of a big city (ahem, Heather, let me know if you want me to put this on the next cargo ship out to NY). Motta grew up on the beach in south Brazil, where he would turn the pieces of wood the ocean carried ashore into viable, functional pieces. His career path’s led him to create mostly things your tush would appreciate (see the curvy, low-slung Cuica above) with the odd desk and cabinet thrown in for good measure. Go become his newest fan.