First, I do not wish to offend anyone, but I very well may and I apologize in advance if you are offended by my post.
First rant is that I'm way over the "live edge furniture" movement. It floods the on line and Etsy/Pinterest type market and much of it imo cheapens the artistic, functional, and intrinsic value of George Nakashima's work. It seems anyone with four pipe flanges,caps, 3/4" pipe sections and a slab of "live edge" wood views themselves as a creative genius for slapping together a hall table. Yes, I do love the beauty of a slab of figured or even character grade wood and in Georges view, the piece of wood should tell you what it wants to be; that doesn't let the craftsman off the hook as far as designing and building a base or other type component worthy of displaying that slab.
I buy much of my lumber from area small mill operators and a local on line auction which brings up my second and admittedly selfish rant. For me, the demand for "live edge" lumber has created price increases, lowered the quality, and generally made it tougher to find lumber that has the wane and bark removed. There are bidding wars on "live edge" full of knots, splits, checks, and insects that imo is most suitable for the fireplace. Around here, the lumber that is SLR has a large premium on a service that was for the most part standard a few years ago.
Apparently there must be a market for this rustic furniture as there is so much of it out there. I just wish this fad would pass. Thanks for listening.