‘Grit’ is furniture collection by Israeli designer Avi Fedida offering inspiration in terms of materials and techniques with unique textures created by grinding wood into gritty sandpaper.
Sandpaper is of course typically used in construction to remove small amounts of material from surfaces, making them smooth and enhancing their appearance. As opposed to using this material to provide the finishing touches to crafts however, Fedida fully embeds the material into the stools, tables, and shelf designs of his furniture series. In order to accomplish this, the wood is ground onto the paper as it rotates around a machine. After going through several processes, the sandpaper successfully maintains its appearance, while becoming smooth to the touch and extremely durable and practical. The sandpaper is fully integrated into the wood, with its material nature left exposed.
Once the surface is adorned with a pattern of spirals, it is integrated into the white oak constructions and stabilized with different types of joints. You can watch a video of the process here.
Fedida explains that he inspiration for the ‘Grit’ concept comes from a love of materials that constantly develop a unique character of their own through the effects of time and wear.