Nature vs. Industry

Though many may never recognize it, we wage a constant battle every day in attempting to find balance in our surroundings. We, as human beings, are organic...wholly natural. We were created from the dust of the ground and we survive by consuming that which grows out of it.

I know I'm not alone when I say that at my core, I yearn for a connection with nature. I yearn to feel the sun gently kiss my face and ease aching muscles as it silently breaches the surface of my skin. To reminisce with the sweet scent of lilacs drifting by on the wisp of a summer breeze. To taste the savory salt of the ocean as it hangs softly in the air on the beach. To witness the magnificence and fortitude of a mighty mountainside sprawled out across the landscape playing tag with the clouds as they float by. Yet, with human progression, we've experienced a regression in our connection with nature. Our advancements seem to move us further away from the very things that ground us, that we take root in.

Today, the designs we see in the products we use, the buildings we live and work in, and the decor that surrounds us is consistently attempting to bring us back, back to that which we so desperately need...to feel a visceral connection with the earth and its spellbinding wonder. Trees provide us with the opportunity to do just that. Everything about a tree can remind us of who we are and our bond with nature. The roots we both share in the dust of the ground, the strength it takes to grow up strong and resilient in the environments surrounding us, the need to reach for light offering us the greatness of its essential brilliance, the new buds that form as we grow and expand our reach throughout our time here on earth, and the beauty that lies beneath.

We can use the rare and unique beauty at the heart of nearly every species of tree to remind us of the beauty that can be found at the heart of our own species. No matter how closely we may be related on the outside, each is entirely unique and exquisite when we reach the core. My absolute favorite Oshkosh Designs product is the Alhambra medallion. With the simplistic natural depth of the wenge and the spiritual movement of the aluminum set within, it's the perfect juxtaposition of the natural and the industrial. Everything we've forged to develop in our world of progression, beautifully set in the heart of God's natural creation.