Handcrafted Modern

I'm pleased to announce that our good friend Hank Tosh (the extremely talented owner of Tosh Mahal, where our furniture goes for extraordinary restoration and refinishing) is now creating his own line of handmade furniture.

We consider ourselves very fortunate indeed to be able to offer Hank's Handcrafted Modern pieces in our store. Take a look at these gorgeous mirror image, bookmatched live edge tables!

Live edge tables by Hank Tosh of Handcrafted Modern

In the store: A little Danish, a little American and a lot of style

This week's additions to the store are three credenzas, a 9-foot Milo Baughman sofa and a chrome and glass coffee table.

One of the credenzas is a Danish beauty manufactured by H. P. Hansen that was purchased in 1972 and still looks brand new. Another is teak with unusual silver pulls and interesting detailing on the doors. The third just received a beautiful professional two-tone finish from mid-century miracle worker Hank Tosh at Toshmahal.

The Milo Baughman sofa has chrome legs and pale gray upholstery. The chrome and glass coffee table has a brand new top and looks like it was made for the sofa.

Newly refinished two-tone credenza

Teak credenza with unusual silver pulls

H. P. Hansen credenza, circa 1972

9' Milo Baughman sofa

Chrome and glass coffee table

Update: The two-tone credenza flew out of the store almost as fast as we got it on the floor. Score one for Hank Tosh and his great refinishing job!

Toshmahal

Hank Tosh's name is spoken in a tone approaching reverence by mid-century mavens in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.  He has been called The Furniture Savior, and not without reason, because he works restoration and refinishing miracles.  Toshmahal, his business in Dallas' Oak Cliff neighborhood, turns out some of the most breathtaking pieces in town.

Tosh will work on furniture from other periods, but he admits that MCM is his personal favorite and his specialty, since he began collecting long before he made his living working with wood.  He has an affinity for Danish Modern and Heywood Wakefield, and his mastery of the Heywood Wakefield wheat and champagne finishes has become nothing short of legendary.

Tosh started his career at Lakewood Furniture doing the "gruntwork" of sanding, stripping and a little staining. Eventually, he opened his own shop and now is the go-to guy of many of the major designers and mid-century dealers in the area.  He mixes his own toners and stains and claims that a great deal of trial and error went into perfecting them.

Calling some designers people who "like to do bad things to good furniture" in the name of making everything match and covering imperfections, he generally discourages "ebonizing" and encourages using many different types and colors of woods in the same house or even the same room.

When asked for one top secret trick of the trade, Tosh offers several, including steaming dents out of furniture with a wet paper towel and an iron and using heavy, uncut carnuba wax as a cleaning and waterproofing agent. He advises people not to try refinishing unless they know what they're doing, as it just makes his job more costly and more difficult, but his best tip for lovers of beautiful furniture is a simple one: Use a coaster!

From interviews on decordallas.com and dfwmcm.blogspot.com

Dunbar rosewood cabinets
toshmahal.com

Herman Miller thinedge cabinet
toshmahal.com

Robsjohn-Gibbings table
toshmahal.com

Heywood Wakefield hutch
toshmahal.com

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