Personalized raised-relief inlay

Abstract

A customized unit of furniture comprising: (a) a base furnishing including at least one of a projection and a recess; and (b) an inlay incorporating a customized indicia, with at least a portion of the inlay including at least one of a corresponding recess and a corresponding projection to engage at least one of the projection and recess of the furnishing to permanently mount the panel to the furnishing. The invention also includes a method of distributing customized furniture comprising: (a) offering a plurality of furnishings for sale; (b) offering a customized inlay to be permanently mounted to an unfinished furnishing to form at least one of the plurality of furnishings; and (c) selling at least one of the plurality of furnishings with the customized inlay, where the customized inlay includes a visible face incorporating a customized indicia.

1 . A customized unit of furniture comprising:
 a base furnishing including at least one of a projection and a recess; and   an inlay incorporating a customized indicia, with at least a portion of the inlay including at least one of a corresponding recess and a corresponding projection to engage at least one of the projection and recess of the furnishing to permanently mount the panel to the furnishing.   
   
   
       2 . The customized unit of furniture of  claim 1 , wherein the furnishing is at least one of a table, a display stand, a magazine rack, a bookcase, a chair, a chest, a cabinet, and a serving tray. 
   
   
       3 . The customized unit of furniture of  claim 1 , wherein the customized indicia include a linguistic representation of at least one of a particular event, a particular person, or a particular message. 
   
   
       4 . The customized unit of furniture of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the inlay includes a projection generally rectangular in cross-section;   the furnishing includes a recess generally rectangular in cross-section; and   the inlay at least partially occupies the recess using at least one of a compression fit, an adhesive, and a permanent fastener.   
   
   
       5 . The customized unit of furniture of  claim 1 , wherein the inlay includes an exposed raised face comprising a generally planar surface with at least one edge of the planar surface being beveled to approximate the level of surface of the furnishing surrounding the recess. 
   
   
       6 . The customized unit of furniture of  claim 1 , wherein the inlay includes an exposed raised face that overlaps any recess or projection of the furnishing so that no portion of the recess or projection is visible when the inlay is mounted to the furnishing. 
   
   
       7 . The customized unit of furniture of  claim 1 , wherein the inlay is removably mounted to the furnishing. 
   
   
       8 . The customized unit of furniture of  claim 1 , wherein the inlay includes a plurality of panels each incorporating a differing customized indicia, where each of the plurality of panels is permanently mounted to the furnishing. 
   
   
       9 . A method of customizing furniture, the method comprising:
 mounting a customized inlay, having a customized indicia on a face of the inlay exposed to an objective observer, to a furnishing, where the customized inlay includes at least one of a recess and a projection that interfaces with at least one of a corresponding projection and a corresponding recess of the furnishing to permanently mount the inlay to the furnishing.   
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising the act of fabricating the customized inlay to include a projection to be received within a recess of the furnishing. 
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the act of fabricating the customized inlay includes forming the permanent indicia on the face of the customized inlay. 
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the act of forming the permanent indicia includes the act of laser engraving the permanent indicia on the face of the customized inlay. 
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the act of fabricating the customized inlay includes utilization of a rotating bit to form the projection. 
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the permanent indicia includes a linguistic representation of at least one of a particular event, a particular person, and a particular message. 
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the furnishing includes at least one of a table, a display stand, a magazine rack, a bookcase, a chair, a chest, a cabinet, and a serving tray. 
   
   
       16 . A method of distributing customized furniture comprising:
 offering a plurality of furnishings for sale;   offering a customized inlay to be permanently mounted to an unfinished furnishing to form at least one of the plurality of furnishings; and   selling at least one of the plurality of furnishings with the customized inlay, where the customized inlay includes a visible face incorporating a customized indicia.   
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the customized indicia include a linguistic representation of at least one of a particular event, a particular person, or a particular message. 
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 electronically receiving instructions of a customer as to the customized indicia to be incorporated with the customized inlay; and   mounting the customized inlay to the unfinished furnishing.   
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein:
 the act of offering the plurality of furnishings for sale is performed electronically; and   the act of offering the customized inlay to be mounted to the unfinished furnishing is performed electronically.   
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising the act of providing an electronic data input for a customer to input at least a portion of the customized indicia. 
   
   
       21 . A method of distributing customized furniture comprising:
 receiving a unit of furniture in component parts from a supplier;   customizing at least one of the component parts in response to a particular consumer request;   assembling the component parts to permanently incorporate the customized component part as an integral part of a customized furnishing; and   supplying the customer with the customized furnishing in satisfaction of the particular consumer request.