George Nakashima (1905-1990) was a woodworker, born in Spokane, Washington. He attended the University of Washington and received his Masters in Architecture from M.I.T. During WWII, he was placed in an internment camp where he learned woodworking from a Japanese carpenter. In 1943 he opened up a woodworking shop and studio in New Hope, Pennsylvania and employed some of the world’s finest craftsmen. Today the Nakashima Studio is operated by his daughter, Mira Nakashima-Yarnall. His work can be found in the late Nelson Rockefeller’s home, the interior of Columbia University, and the International Paper Corporation, among others.
Mira Nakashima-Yarnall
Mira Nakashima-Yarnall (b. 1942, Seattle, WA) has followed her father’s path by becoming a woodworker. She attended Harvard University and received a Masters degree in Architecture from Waseda University in Tokyo. She worked with her father for many years as a colleague and designer in his workshop. Since her father's death in 1990, she has been the creative director of the Nakashima studio, in New Hope, PA, where she continues to produce her father's classic furniture designs and to design and produce her own work as well. She lives with her family at the studio compound in New Hope.
George Nakashima, Conoid Bench with Back, Courtesy Mira Nakashima and Bob Hunsicker of Pharos Studios, George Erml photograph
Mira Nakashima Yarnall, Concordia Chair, Courtesy of Mira Nakashima and Bob Hunsicker of Pharos Studios
Mira Nakashima talks about the special edition Nakashima guitar that was made in George's honor by Martin Guitar Company; it is the only guitar made to honor someone who was not a musician.
