At 3daysofdesign in Copenhagen, AHEC spotlighted No.1 Common — an often-overlooked hardwood grade — through striking furniture pieces made from sustainably sourced American timber.
8 July 2025
It’s easy to appreciate wooden furniture that’s smooth, clear, and uniform. But what if we started celebrating the natural variety found in wood itself? That’s the question posed by No.1 Common, a recent exhibition by the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) at 3daysofdesign in Copenhagen.
Held at the Material Matters fair from 18 – 20 June 2025, the showcase put a spotlight on Number 1 Common hardwood — a grade originally developed for cabinetry and furniture parts, yet not commonly used in Europe. While it contains a similar amount of clear wood as upper grades, it comes in smaller cuttings and includes more visible variation: knots, irregular grains, colour shifts. AHEC’s message? These features aren’t flaws — they are a creative opportunity.
Although American hardwood forests are thriving — containing more than twice the volume of standing timber than 50 years ago — much of what gets used in furniture and interiors comes from only a small portion of the tree. No.1 Common challenged this idea by showing how overlooked wood can still be beautiful, functional, and sustainable.
To bring the message to life, AHEC invited three designers — Andu Masebo, Daniel Schofield, and Anna Maria Øfstedal Eng — to each create pieces using only Number 1 Common hardwoods. The furniture was made by Benchmark, a UK-based workshop known for its emphasis on craft and sustainable materials.
London designer Andu Masebo created Around Table, an eight-part table in red oak that changed shape throughout the exhibition. Designed to bring people together, the table hosted a series of events and moments of connection. Matching semi-stackable stools in brown maple carried the same fluid curves, forming a flexible family of pieces that put social interaction at the heart of the design.
British designer Daniel Schofield, who lives in Copenhagen, designed Common Room, a set of stools, benches, screens, and a table made from Number 1 Common cherry. Aimed at flexible workspaces, the collection embraced the natural character of the wood — including knots and grain splits — using butterfly joints with rounded corners that celebrated these details rather than hiding them.
From her studio in Norway, Anna Maria Øfstedal Eng created the Kontur Series: a cabinet and wall mirror crafted from laminated yellow birch boards. Inspired by roots and branches, she revealed dramatic, flowing grain patterns through carving, letting the natural tones and textures of the timber guide each form.
Even the exhibition space told a story. Designed by KUF Studios (the practice of Danish designer Kia Utzon-Frank), the setting was built entirely from leftover offcuts from the furniture production. It drew inspiration from timberyards and workshops — complete with stacked planks and straps — and was designed to be easily reused in future projects. Nothing was wasted.
More than just a design showcase, No.1 Common was a reminder that sustainability starts with smarter choices. By making better use of what nature already gives us, AHEC is encouraging a shift — from valuing only the pristine, to appreciating the practical, the resourceful, and the real.
AHEC
www.ahec.org
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