Man makes Jellyfish Table, will donate all proceeds to Autismspeaks.org
MADISON, Wis. — For the last five years, Josh Kandiko has been making furniture out of his garage.
Curious about the process behind woodmaking, he took it upon himself to learn everything he knows today.
He taught himself how to cut trees down, mill his own lumber and build things with his own two hands.
“After I learned how to do all of that, it was how do I continue to inspire myself and inspire others and create interesting things?” Kandiko said.
He’s made cabinets, chairs, frames and anything you could think of. Kandiko said he likes when his creations have meaning.
“It’s fun to match function with art and just create unique pieces with individuals,” Kandiko said.
Aside from running a business out of his garage, Kandiko is a family man. His son, Mason, was diagnosed with autism when he was 5 years old.
“When you look back on it now, all the signs were there,” Kandiko said. “He had no concept of personal space, he was oftentimes very close to someone, blowing in their hair.”
Kandiko was unfamiliar with how to raise a son who has autism so he relied on Autismspeaks.org.
He said the resources available were so helpful, he wanted “to make it a goal of mine to give back to those resources that we leaned upon.”
He combined his love for making furniture and giving back to make what he calls a Jellyfish Table.
“Seeing my tables, and I try to picture some sort of animal inside of them and this one it kept coming back to me,” Kandiko said. “It looks like the legs when you push up underneath the table, it just looks like the arms of a jellyfish. It kind of plays off two things. One being the sea, but blue is also the official color of autism.”
Kandiko is raffling the table online and will give all proceeds to Austismspeaks.org.
He’s not only donating the money he can get from the tickets, but an anonymous donor will play a big part, too.
“For every raffle ticket that has been purchased already, they will match that donation and any future raffle ticket donation up to $3,000,” Kandiko said.
Kandiko said anyone can enter the raffle, and he will pick up the shipping costs of the table and send it anywhere in the world.
“It’s just important for parents to know that you’re not alone and there are resources out there.”
Kandiko said the raffle will go until April 2. Then, he will pick a winner on Facebook Live.
To enter the raffle to win the Jellyfish Table, click here.
To learn more about Kandiko’s furniture making business, follow his Facebook page here.
Look at this Jellyfish table! A handmade table to represent #autism. The furniture maker behind it says he wanted to raffle it off and give all proceeds to #autismspeaks as a way to give back to the resource he leaned on after finding out his son had autism. #News3Now pic.twitter.com/a656R3B7Fc
— Jamie Perez (@JamiePerezTV) March 12, 2019
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