As I sit in my living room with my feet propped up on the table above, I'm reminded of how much I enjoyed this project. This Wave Table was my final project for a Furniture Design course at the University of Michigan. I had just returned to Ann Arbor, Michigan after living in Sydney, Australia for 6 months. I learned to surf while I was there and remember seeing waves with power like I had never before experienced (these were not the ones I was attempting to surf.) I told my professor I wanted to make a coffee table that looked fluid like a wave, using wood. Originally I imagined bending thin strips of wood, similar to work by Matthias Plessings, but opted for a stacked profile approach that was more intuitive to me. I made several cardboard mockups, sketches, and CAD designs, but don't think I fully convinced my professor I could pull it off.

I slept through my scheduled time to use the Design School's CNC machine, after pulling an all-nighter prepping for my Aero Control Systems final exam. Given all the students vying for machine time to complete final projects, I didn't realize this would be my only opportunity to use it. I signed up for an Ann Arbor makerspace membership to have access to the tools needed to complete this project on time. This turned out to be a great experience, I was aware of the concept, but had never before used a makerspace. Since then I've sought out makerspaces and techshops in almost every city I've lived.