Necessity. the mother of invention, led Venice-based David McAuliffe to launch Milwood Design this fall. With a 30-year career comprising stints as an artist and a gallerist (he is the founder of the former Angles Gallery, an early dealer of Donald Judd’s influential minimalist furniture), McAuliffe couldn’t find a suitably compatible stool for his midcentury kitchen table, so he made his own. Next came designs for an elegant bench and side table. “I wanted to start off with basic elements and add,” he explains of the numbered, limited-edition pieces topped in Danish cord and leather. “It’s about proportion and being handmade —much like a sculpture,” he says. Available at Stahl + Band, 2308 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice, 424-228-4134; stahlandband.com; milwooddesign.com