Modeled on the floppy, early-1960s inflatable raft — the style Andrew credits with starting the entire inflatable pool-toy trend that eventually produced giant flamingos and lip-shaped tubes. Made from a single slab of urban-salvaged Claro walnut, milled from an eighty-year-old tree that had grown huge and gangly over a Pasadena yard until it began dropping limbs. Andrew helped mill the whole tree over two days, chose this piece in log form, had it cut five inches thick, and air-dried it for seven years before touching it.
The design was drawn in 3D software, bent to follow the shape of the live-edge slab so it reads differently from every angle, then double-sided milled on the CNC and joined with four heavy mortise-and-tenon joints. Andrew compares reading the walnut's swirling dark-and-caramel grain to tasting a good red wine. Finished with five coats of hand-rubbed Sutherland Welles tung oil.