For my senior thesis project at PSU, I decided to build a modern maple wood butcher block table. The legs of the table came from the cast iron legs of an antique Singer Sewing machine passed down in my Italian family from the 1900's. I wanted to create a family heirloom that could be handed down from generation to generation to inspire my future relatives to cook.

The butcher block table represents my great-grandmother’s family growing up poor on a farm in southern Italy. She used a butcher block table to butcher a farm animal and make a home-cooked meal to provide for her family. The branding of the table is my Italian family name, Silvagni. The table includes: laser engraved stainless steel butcher knives (that magnetically attach to the side of the table), an apron, butcher board conditioner with wiping cloths, a roll of stamped butcher paper for meat packaging, and a Silvagni Italian recipe journal. The journal includes traditional recipes from my great-grandmother as well as blank pages for new recipes. Like the table, the Silvagni lettering was hand-crafted and holds the spirit of my Silvagni Italian family. 

Photography by: Tim Acock