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About the Artists – Edward “Kristian” & Diane Grunseth
I studied architecture at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana. After awhile, I found my interest in fine art to be stronger so I switched to studying sculpture. Ever since I was 13, a little voice in my head kept saying "Furniture, furniture..." Was it because my Grandma was a painter and sculptor or my Grandpa a Norwegian boat-builder or the influences of trips up north to my Granddad's forest? Who knows, but their ghosts were pushing me to make furniture.
So, what could a poor boy do? I looked for an apprenticeship and the worldwide search landed me with a
very talented young man named Peter Danko who lived in Washington, D.C. Peter
was a painter, sculptor and furniture-maker. He later did a national furniture
tour in many major museums with Sam Maloof, Wendle Castle and George Nakashima.
Those guys I consider to be the "Grand-daddies of contemporary furniture".
During my apprenticeship at Danko's Studio, I learned wood is like plastic. We carved it, bent it, and molded all sorts of different woods into human, animal and abstract forms. It was great fun, maybe too much fun, but I left with a wealth of knowledge.
I worked in two other shops after my apprenticeship. One shop was a large cabinet shop that did custom kitchens, baths, libraries, furniture and general wood projects. There I learned a more traditional, formal approach to woodworking.
Then, as life does, I was accidentally in business for myself. It happened suddenly. I was in a partnership, but after a few years we went our separate ways although we continued to share a studio. During this transition I learned to link my sculptural experiences with my more practical cabinetmaker experiences. From this linking of ideas came sculptured furniture, flowered bookshelves, gull-wing coat racks, lightning-bolt libraries, fantasy beds, a new style of kitchen cabinet doors, and my trademark collection - to mention a few.
Diane entered my life in 1997. We met at a trade show where I was displaying my furniture and she displayed
her talents as a self-employed art dealer/picture framer. She had worked 11 years for several large and small galleries
learning not just custom framing, but how
to turn out large production orders for clients (like hotels), sales, design and
management. During the next 10 years with her own business venture
of a highly custom and service oriented business, her talents grew to being not
only an apt crafts person, but also a fine Interior Designer and Art Dealer.
We moved to a great location in the Crazy Mountains and built a shop with great studio capabilities. Our interest in the challenge of creating something fresh or classic to fit the needs of our clients in their unique settings is a goal we both share. Both of us get our hands dirty as well as run different parts of KBS.
All Text & Images © The Kristian Brunsdale Studio, Ltd. 2008
254 Horse Creek Rd. North Fork, Wilsall MT 59086
Phone:406-578-WOOD(9663) / Fax:406-578-2368 / Toll Free:866-495-WOOD(9663)
e-mail:kristian@kristianbrunsdale.com