The Background

I Couldn't Find

There was a time when my professional world suddenly became framed by a computer screen.

Video calls became meeting rooms, and the space behind us became part of how we presented ourselves.

I tried different backgrounds. I experimented with virtual ones. Some looked good—but none of them felt like me.

So I did what makers do.

I stopped looking and started creating.

I gathered different woods—different grains, colors, histories and personalities, and began arranging them horizontally. Light against dark. Smooth against figured. Long uninterrupted lines broken by shorter moments.

Then came color.

Not enough to hide the wood, because the wood needed to remain the voice of the piece. Just flashes of red, yellow, green and other tones. Little vibrations moving through the natural landscape.

Piece by piece, the background became a composition.

And then something unexpected happened.

During video calls, people started asking about it.

"What's behind you?"

"Is that wood?"

"Where did you get that?"

Those questions became conversations, and those conversations reminded me of something I've always believed:

The things we surround ourselves with carry energy.

This piece wasn't created to become a product.

It was created to solve a problem — to make a digital space feel human, tactile and personal.

For years, it sat behind me as I worked, talked, designed, solved problems and connected with people through a screen.

Now its time in my space is complete.

And rather than simply owning another thing because I made it, I'm choosing to let it continue its journey somewhere new.

Perhaps behind another desk.

Perhaps in a creative studio.

Perhaps above a sofa, inside a conference room, restaurant, listening room or home filled with objects that have stories of their own.

Wherever it goes next, a piece of its story has already been written.

The rest belongs to its next curator.

One-of-a-Kind Mixed-Wood Wall Art
Approx. 7' W × 4' H
Handcrafted by Coolee Designs

Honor the hands that made it.
Celebrate the story it carries.
Continue its journey.