Cool Hunting

It's a hunk of tree. Look closer. It's still a hunk of tree, but that's the point. The Wood Drop 14 stool by North Carolina-based Skram basks in all its imperfect glory, its naturally occurring cracks and flaws turned into valuable assets simply through their presentation.

Skram's lead designer and owner Jacob Marks looked for these beauty marks, or "checks," in found, reclaimed or harvested wood, seeing the pieces through milling and drying before turning them into stools. Attracted to the checks because he felt they broke up the visual heft of the wood, he played on their organic design for an even more powerful piece than had been irregularities-free.

"The general idea is to have no wasted wood," says Willard Ford of Ford&Ching, the store where Skram chose to debut the Wood Drop 14. It couldn't have been said any better. One person's trash is another's treasure.

The stool measures 12" in diameter and 14" in height. Three varieties—American beech, in a bone lacquer (pictured) or clear finish; torched oak in a clear finish (pictured); and cherry with a clear finish—are available and can be ordered from Ford&Ching for $590.