Incollect Magazine Issue 7

Incollect Magazine 125 Adam Zimmerman grew up in Texas, where tinkering around and working on home projects with his dad was his first introduction to creating with wood. “I loved the endless possibilities and the fact that it was a material I could work with, even as a kid with little skill,” he says. Zimmerman was later trained formally as an architect, so one of his first exposures to wood professionally was with several timber- framed buildings he designed. “Through this, I gained an appreciation for the various practical benefits, but also the softness it imparted on the building and the interior.” “The unique and sometimes unexpected grain patterns and the varying degrees of color within a slab of wood ensure every piece we create at Ottra here is truly one of a kind,” he says. Much of their work is also unique because it is custom made. “This past year was exhilarating, as we completed a new staircase in a Miami home designed by Fox-Nahem. We are also working on another staircase for a home in San Diego. Both are similar to the one in our studio here in Brooklyn, but were designed specifically for the spaces.” Sources of inspiration for Ottra furniture vary but the essence of the brand lies in 20th-century modern masters like Saarinen, Le Corbusier, and Noguchi. “As a practicing architect it’s hard not to be influenced by the work of these past design masters, both in terms of their buildings as well as the furniture,” he says. “And I’ve always had an affinity for artists like Donald Judd and Constantin Brancusi. If you look closely I think you can draw connections, even with Judd’s more playful works.” Ottra Ottra’s bestselling Asymmetric Bench is crafted with a hybrid process combining hand carving and CNC. Shown here with an upholstered shearling top, it can be configured as a table-height bench seat, or without the upholstered top as a coffee table or console table. In the background, a spectacular custom staircase designed and built by Ottra for their Brooklyn office/studio/workshop. This dreamy custom chaise was commissioned by top interior design firm Fox Nahem Associates for Elle Decor’s Penthouse at 53 West 53 in Manhattan. Initially a unique one-off piece, it is now available to order. Photo: Kelly Marshall