Early in his career, Pini Leibovich persuaded the curator of a well-known museum to take a look at his design portfolio. Kindly, she told the young designer that the kind of work he did—inexpensive, utilitarian plastic housewares—had no place in an exhibition hall.

He has spent the subsequent three decades proving her wrong.

Mr. Leibovich, 52, is today one of Israel’s leading designers of bold, practical furnishings that have been displayed around the world.

Life was, therefore, full to bursting. But Mr. Leibovich itched to design things that people wouldn't simply buy from a catalog. "What I wanted was to be able to make practical stuff—which could also be displayed in a museum,” he said.

His first idea project was to create pieces inspired by the orderly chaos of the DNA sequence. He formed stacks of birch plywood strips into elaborate curves fixed with metal clips. Using these as building blocks, Mr. Leibovich created coffee tables, shelving units, side tables and consoles.

• For the full article at The Wall Street Journal click here!