Brianne Boettner can take an ugly "tree wart" and transform it into an eye-catching maple cocktail table. "It looks like the shape of a lake from a map," she says. Or craft an organic headboard from a slab of monkeypod.

Boettner, a Minneapolis furniture designer and maker, recently opened her Timber & Tulip showroom and workshop in St. Louis Park, where she marries rare and unique species of wood with sleek metal legs to give her industrial modern furniture its one-of-a-kind functional art vibe.

The showroom is furnished with examples of Boettner's midcentury modern-influenced curvy benches and tables, clean-lined credenzas and floating wall planters, which all embody a "streamlined silhouette to let the materials speak," she says.

Timber & Tulip’s one-of-a-kind natural modern wood furniture.
Timber & Tulip’s one-of-a-kind natural modern wood furniture.

Even before live edge furniture was all the rage, Boettner, 35, was drawn to its organic and earthy qualities. "It's not just for rustic log homes anymore," says the former financial controller who escaped the corporate rat race in 2016 to pursue a creative passion that she discovered later in life.

Timber & Tulip's one-of-a-kind natural modern wood furniture.
Timber & Tulip's one-of-a-kind natural modern wood furniture.

Boettner hunts for sustainably sourced slabs of contrasting wood grain from all over the world with monkeypod, from Central America, garnering many client requests for its "rich grain, swirls and variations of warm tones," she says.

Turn on the TV and you'll see the live edge monkeypod table she designed for the hosts of "Twin Cities Live."

The majority of Boettner's furniture is custom-designed heirloom quality pieces with upscale prices to match. But this spring, she plans to launch a more affordable line of case goods, so clients can chose the size, species of wood and metal hardware.

Timber & Tulip, 7500, W. 27th St., Bldg. C, St. Louis Park, timberandtulip.com