A Guide to the Best of Southern California : HANDMADE : Out of the Woods

“There’s generally a small war going on between the parts that want to float away and the grounded sedentary piece,” Randy Bader says of the whirling lines he incorporates into his handcrafted furniture. The master woodworker builds into even such large pieces as a 300-pound dresser an illusion of lightness.

A Bader desk, for instance, has a complicated off-center base that seems poised to leap. Like many of his designs, it is something of a puzzle, making the onlooker wonder how it coexists with gravity.

Bader, who exhibits in his hometown at the Laguna Beach Festival of Arts (through Friday) and the Sawdust Festival (through next Sunday), concentrates more on accessories than room-commanding units. His repertoire includes desks, coffee tables, armoires, rocking chairs and ottomans. Prices start at $900.

Although he accepts commissions, Bader isn’t interested in reproducing something a client has seen in a picture. But, he says, “if they have a concept, an idea, I can work with them.”

Randy Bader Woodworking, by appointment only; (714) 494-8696.