Award winning Mesquite Artist Lou Quallenberg creates sculpted live edge furniture in a contemporary style that reflects the flavor of the west. Working with the curves that nature supplies Lou creates one of a kind art pieces that call out to be touched. The natural cracks and crevices that give Mesquite wood it's unique character are often inlaid with gem quality turquoise, bits of gold or small client supplied mementos creating heirloom treasures for generations to come from his Llano, Texas workshop.
Featured in our slide show is Lou's award winning Mesquite Partners Desk. It features four drawers each curved and fitted into the curved apron. Each drawer has a self closing mechanism and can be opened to full extension while two drawers include a removable drawer tray with a magnetic catch to hold them in place. Other special touches include custom antler drawer pulls and leg arches, as well as his signature live edge, floating top and curves.
He finds inspiration from a wide variety of sources ;he sites Leonardo da Vinci, Frank Lyod Wright, Sam Maloof, Georgia O'Keefe, and George Nakashima on his website. There are several galleries who carry his work and he does custom commissioned "bespoke" pieces as well. Each one is intended to become a family heirloom. What is special is that this work can work well with many existing styles, and each piece is truly unique.
Lou works mainly with local Texas grown Mesquite, which is harder than cherry with a very low moisture content. These trees are often a nuisance to many Texas Farmers and ranchers and are regularly cleared from the land.. Lou honors and respects the spirit and life of a tree, and will only take a large living tree that has already being scheduled to be removed. He tracks each slab of wood in his inventory and refers to pieces as 'sisters' if they come from the same tree. A conscious effort is made to be as environmentally friendly as possible reducing the carbon footprint of the design process. The standard finish is a natural tung oil finish with a hand rubbed wax. The artisan details the entire process on his website.
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