Potluck Design + Build

ROCK STOOL

A seat, or end table, this work was inspired by common natural stone patios. Intended as multiples, these pieces can be placed together, making one larger surface reminiscent of a flagstone patio or walkway, or displayed individually.

Basalt, White Oak // 18”x16”x16”

📸 :

Basalt Lamp

This work is a part of our new “Osceola Series” inspired by the St. Croix River that is the border between Minnesota and Wisconsin, and the Oak Savannas along its shores.

The Basalt Lamp is inspired by the sheer basalt cliff faces along the river, a defining characteristic of the area. We love the St. Croix River and wanted this piece to be a vignette of it’s landscape to bring into the home.

12” x 10” x 41”

Currently featured in our shop on our website:
https://www.potluck.build/shop

Boulder Table

Basalt, Steel, Cedar

Created with our friends at .archi.

Big thanks to our friends Austin and Koto for helping to make this come to life!

St Croix Treehouse

Designed as a piece of a larger collaboration with , this treehouse overlooks the St Croix River, sitting high amongst the trees. We loved working on the project and only wish we could go visit it more often :,)

Naoshima Island, Japan 🪨

Since I first heard of Lee Ufan and the Mono Ha Movement, I’ve wanted to see one in real life. I wasn’t allowed to take photos of my things, but please enjoy the works of Hiroshi Sugimoto, Lee Ufan, Yayoi Kusama, and Jenny Holzer all wrapped in the work of Tadao Ando.

So good :,)

Scallop Conversation Circle has just been installed for the Northside Community Garden!

Intended to elicit a welcoming conversation space for community members, this 180 degree bench wraps itself into the vegetable garden it sits within.

It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day for a neighbor ✨👋🌸

In process on a new build in NE Minneapolis and who should be over the fence but a wonderful project by .landscape.office

I love to think about the ways these gardens will interact, grow, and influence one another. This project by OOIEE was extremely influential to us at Potluck when we began, still is, and we’re excited to be neighbors ✨

St Croix Tree House 🌳 🏠

Lots of work, love, and collaboration went into this project and we couldn’t be happier with it!!! Inspired by bird houses, we included a loft within the structure to offer to offer a real sense of being in the trees, nesting above the valley. Storm Shutters, a climbing wall, stairs, and even a slide we’re included for this to be a multigenerational experience.

Thanks to for bringing us into this project and to the wonderful homeowner whose imagination and inspiration for the land allowed us to create this work.

While we generally prefer to post images of our work, we thought we should introduce ourselves to some new folks who follow us!!

We are Potluck Design and Build, a 2 man team based in Minneapolis, MN. We, ( Ryan and Tom, left and right respectively) create gardens, furniture, sculpture, although we try not to draw too harsh of a distinction between these things. Our inspiration for the name comes from the communal meal, Potluck, where each participant brings a dish, contributing to the creation of the whole. This non-hierarchical structure, defined by its collaborative spirit, inspires our approach to the practice. We want to cultivate the concept of a Potluck Ecology; a belief that each participant, the stone, the plant, the lumber, and the makers, are active collaborators in the process.

📸: .rickner_photo

Bubblegum Lamp 🌸

An impromptu design made with what we had around the shop, this lamp is a great example making as thinking.

White Oak, Boulders, and Light ♥️

We have been slowing creating a new line of furniture this winter and we’re excited to start sharing it with you all. From seating, to lamps and end tables, these pieces highlight the beauty between the “built and non-built”, the hand-crafted and the naturally occurring.

As makers, we believe in the presentation of a natural object as much as we believe in the transformation of a material and find turning a Boulder 180 degrees to be just as meaningful as the milling and reshaping of lumber.

These pieces intend to illicit appreciation not just for the formal quality, but for the natural world itself.

So many thanks to the great .rickner_photo for the wonderful documentation 🙏