Fri 9/9 @ 5-10PM
When Jason Radcliffe conceived his furniture company 44 STEEL more than a decade ago, the designer felt as though he was alone on an island. However, he quickly realized there were plenty of like-minded furniture makers just chomping at the bit to not only join a scene but also ready to create a style.
This led to the creation of the F*SHO, a show held in a variety of spaces and locations, including churches, neighborhoods and spaces on the rebound. The 2016 event takes place Fri 9/9 @ 5-10pm at 5401 Hamilton in Cleveland. The building is actually the IngenuityFest’s new home, with F*SHO also featuring a small preview of this year’s art and technology festival.
CoolCleveland talked to 44 STEEL’s Jason Radcliffe about F*SHO, Madonna and IKEA shoppers.
What’s the origin of F*SHO?
This started in 2009. I’m a furniture maker and I didn’t know anybody else did furniture in Cleveland. When it’s small, you can’t find people. Five friends started this. It was amazing how many people who showed up the first year that were furniture makers and wanted to be a part of the show. So in 2010, the show had 28 designers and makers. We’ve pretty much steadily grown it and we’re at the point where we’re going to have almost 40 designers. Attendance is usually around 3,000 people for a one-night event.
How did you get started in furniture making?
I’m a fabricator and welder. I’ve been since I was 18 years old. And I knew a friend who worked at a furniture store in Chagrin Falls. Being a fabricator, I made her a table she needed. Next, I was in her store and this designer was like, “I can’t get this table or that table.” My friend said, “This guy makes tables.” It was like a movie. I turned around to see if somebody was behind me. I was like, “Sure, I’ll make something.” I ended up making this table for this woman and then the owner of the furniture store started carrying some of my products. The next thing you know, here I am. That was in 2005. Now 11 years later, I sell all over the country. I’m known for the Mouse Desk. Madonna has my furniture.
The Material Girl has a 44 STEEL piece?
I sell at a few stores in Manhattan. I got a frantic email when she bought it. It was hilarious. It was “She’s in the store and she bought your desk and the file cart.” I was like “OK, calm down. That’s good.”
It seems as though you were more happy someone bought a desk and less concerned about who it was.
Right, everyone who sees the desk loves it. Just because of how minimal it is and how simple it is. It looks like a table. That’s the response I’ve gotten from most people. That’s the best-selling thing I have. When I hear people love them and buy them, it’s not a surprise but it is always good. The more I can sell, obviously, the better it is. The Mouse Desk has kind of a hidden drawer. It’s just a circle like a little mouse hole. It just draws your eye. Something is going on and you grab it and it opens up.
How did you conceive the Mouse Desk design?
I’m a big fan of workstations and workspaces. And just how do you get what you need to get done and how do you not be cramped with everything you’re doing. It’s funny, that’s the way I think because that’s a small desk built for the city. I built that to show in New York City just to see what would happen and it ended up taking off. But that desk was as minimal as possible. So the frame becomes the drawer and the top is the top. I just hide all of the welds. I have people using them as dining room tables or a desk.
For most people searching for unique furniture, that mission previously included a two-hour drive to an IKEA. Does F*SHO change that?
Right. We are serving that community.
How has Cleveland’s furniture making community come together over the last decade?
The community has grown immensely. F*SHO brought people who were garage builders — build-at-home hobbyists — into the real spotlight and actually doing this as a living now. What amazes me is the diversity of what we’re doing. Yet we all have the same sensibility. You go to a different place in the country, like New York is so New York furniture, but it’s exactly what you think it would be. Midwest furniture, which is what I classify all of us as, has a look to it. A lot of people are doing reclaimed products — pines, slabs, bases — that are Rust Belt worthy. So we’re taking those things, altering them and making them into something different. I use new stuff, I use reclaimed here and there, but yet my look does look like everyone’s else’s in that way. Maybe that’s just because I’m immersed in it but I feel like we all have this Midwest feel into what we’re doing and it’s very noticeable for Cleveland.
Finally, folks going to F*SHO need to know that the items there are quite pricy.
That’s something about the show that we’re proud of. Every person makes their product themselves. And it’s a piece of furniture that you can invest in to keep for a lifetime. It’s definitely more than IKEA, Target and Walmart furniture. I call it family iconic, which means I’ve got grandfather’s desk and in 20 years I’ll pass it on to the next person.