Bookends

These bookends are all mid-century modern and they’re one of a few of our decor items that are an homage to some of the designers of the era - specifically Charles and Raye Eame, and Alvar Aalto. Each natural wood bookend contains around 75 layers of birch, and they’re available with the striped face or a walnut face.

The bottom of the bookends have a cork pad to help keep them strong and sturdy for whatever author they’re supporting.

Sold as a pair.

Made in Minneapolis.

4 ¾”L x 4 ¾”H x 3”W, 2 lbs.

Sold as a pair.

(01) Baltic Birch & Walnut

This decor piece is made using a beautiful high-end layered Baltic birch from Columbia Forest Products®. Each of the 13 layers are solid wood, and a thick face of walnut wraps it in rich tones. The Baltic birch is a sustainable product and will be very stable as the seasons change, unlike some solid wood furniture.

While many furniture makers conceal the edges of the material, we have made it our signature look to highlight the striped layers. Not only does this give a nod to the designers of the mid-century era, it makes every piece by us a work of art, and a unique, one-of-a-kind, creation.

(02) Finish

We finish our products with a mixture of pure tung oil, boiled linseed oil and wax. This means less harsh chemicals when we are doing the work, and a safer breathing experience for you. The end result is a durable, water-resistant matte finish that feels like a silky-smooth piece of wood.

Another benefit to the finish is that it allows for easy repair when scratches happen. Buff out the scratch with a piece of high-grit sandpaper and rub in some Howard Feed-N-Wax® and your piece is as good as new!

(01) How do I care for this product?

Details can be found on our FAQ page. That said, in general, treat the piece with kindness - and a damp cloth is all you need to clean it (definitely no harsh chemicals), and the piece can be refreshed with a bit of furniture wax when needed, though it shouldn’t be necessary very often with these.

(02) Will these actually hold my books up?

Yes! The cork on the bottom helps to keep the bookend from sliding, even though they aren’t extremely heavy like you’d find in a marble or metal bookend.

Baltic birch layers are a high quality, all hard-wood engineered material that is sustainable, stable, and artful in design. The product we use has 15 layers of thinly sliced birch per ¾” sheet.

In some of our products, such as this one, we glue and stack the sheets together, which multiplies the layered effect. Then, we cut it vertically in narrow strips and turn the stack on its side, essentially creating our own specialty sheet of material, where all you see is individual layers of birch. We call this “Edge Grain Baltic Birch”, although it’s not technically an edge grain at all. It’s layer after layer of solid wood, and we love this look, using it to maximum effect.

It’s inspired by mid-century style, but is modern, minimalist, and a work of art.