Dezeen Magazine

Rasmus Fenhann's axe-marked ebony wood cabinet hides seven drawers

Danish designer and cabinetmaker Rasmus Fenhann assembled small timber offcuts like a puzzle to produce the monolithic-looking Ebano drawers, featured in our Dezeen x The Mindcraft Project 2021 collaboration.

One of 10 designs featured in The Mindcraft Project exhibition of experimental design, Ebano came about after a fellow cabinetmaker gave Fenhann the collection of timber pieces, leftover from an ebony tree felled a decade ago.

Ebano cabinet by Rasmus Fenhann for The Mindcraft Project
The Ebano cabinet is made of ebony timber offcuts. Photo by Anders Sune Berg

Keen to highlight the rich pattern of marks left by axes and chainsaws, Fenhann carefully arranged the pieces into the solid-seeming Ebano structure, which stands 111 centimetres tall.

The texture is meant to invite touch — which might be the only way to spot the seven drawers built into the object. Made of refined rosewood with a deep red hue, they contrast the ebony in both texture and colour when opened.

Ebano cabinet by Rasmus Fenhann for The Mindcraft Project
The monolithic-looking structure hides seven rosewood drawers. Photo by Anders Sune Berg

"The idea is to show old woodworking techniques in a contemporary way," said Fenhann, who makes collectible design combining sometimes near-forgotten craft techniques with new technologies.

"It looks like it is blocks of wood or stone that have been stacked on top of each other, but when you interact with the piece you find out it is actually very fine woodwork with a lot of details and accuracy in the process of the craft," he continued.

Video is by Benjamin Lund.


Dezeen x The Mindcraft Project

The Mindcraft Project is an annual exhibition presented by the Copenhagen Design Agency to bring the best in explorative and experimental Danish design to the world.

The Dezeen x The Mindcraft Project 2021 collaboration showcases the work of 10 innovative designers and studios from the 2021 digital edition of the exhibition via a series of videos. Watch all the videos as we publish them at: www.dezeen.com/the-mindcraft-project-2021.

Dezeen x The Mindcraft Project 2021 is a partnership between Dezeen and Copenhagen Design Agency. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

More images

Ebano cabinet by Rasmus Fenhann for The Mindcraft Project
Detail of Ebano cabinet by Rasmus Fenhann for The Mindcraft Project
The Ebano cabinet in Rasmus Fenhann's workshop
The Ebano cabinet in Rasmus Fenhann's workshop
Detail of The Ebano cabinet in Rasmus Fenhann's workshop
Rasmus Fenhann opening a drawer in the Ebano cabinet
Ebony timber offcuts used by Rasmus Fenhann