BIOGRAPHY: Reidar Wahl
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Reidar Wahl lives and works surrounded by the majestic beauty of Sandpoint, Idaho, just south of the Canadian border. He creates his Norwegian wood custom furniture, cabinetry and interiors drawing inspiration from his environment and the history of the past to conceptualize his visions into works of art, one at a time.
Working with materials of choice, from barnwood and pine, to North American hardwoods, he applies old-world craftsmanship techniques, including mortise and tenon joinery, and traditional hand-hewn surfaces, to his projects. This, combined with meticulous, out-of-the-ordinary patina finishes, makes for creations that are truly one-of-a-kind. His influences are rooted in his Scandinavian heritage, as well as drawing from the inspiration of the frontier design traditions of the American West.
Reidar was born and raised in Norway, growing up a skier in the mountains, surrounded by Scandinavian folk art. His parents were collectors of Norwegian primitive furniture, and he grew to appreciate the warmth and charm that this particular style lent to his environment of soft-aged natural wood tones to the time-worn beauty of painted furniture often graced by the disciplined decorative art form of rosemaling.
A visionary, self-taught furniture maker and builder, Reidar embarked on his journey as a professional craftsman in 1998, having ended an extensive international ski racing career that took him from a world championship ski racer on the Norwegian National Ski Team to the World Pro Ski Tour. He garnered World Championship titles twice, in 1982 and 1983 respectively.
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