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When I was little, I learned that you can tell the age of a tree by counting the rings in the wood. I was never really able to get it to work, but I understand it's a powerful way of doing history (they call it dendrochronology--neat word!). It lets you trace climate patterns, and you can recognize specific calendar years in a tree's growth rings.
Usually, for furniture, there are two ways to track history: through things like style and influence (if you don't know what I mean, check out an episode of "Antiques Roadshow" sometime), and through scuffs, scratches, nicks, and dents. At Context Furniture, husband and wife Bryce and Kerry Moore have come up with a new way to show the history of your furniture. This time, though, it's not the provenance of the items that matters--it's their history as produced objects. The William & Mary line from Context is influenced by the style and period it takes its name from (the legs particularly), but each piece is made of layers of Baltic birch plywood (strong and stylish both), which remind you that someone made this furniture. Even better, they made it to look great--every piece has a strip of hardwood incorporated into the plywood stack. The combination of mass production and handiwork is exciting and interesting, and the look of the pieces is excellent. Price: $1,078
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