A Dragon Table.....

Well this isn't the type of thing you are going to find in most furniture stores. As an independent furniture designer and builder I get involved with a number of interesting projects.
Roberto Calla is a good friend, and fellow craftsman that I work with. One of his talents is creating marquetry, creating beautiful pictures from hundreds of pieces of exotic woods. Someone asked if he could make a dining table inlayed with dragons. Working together with Bob Berghorst, our master woodworker supreme, we are now working to make this dream come true.

Many people are passionate about dragons. If you look around, they are found everywhere. Tattoos, jewelry, books, posters, artwork, pottery, x box games, and furniture list only a few sources. A dragon table may not be right for you, but building custom furniture the way you dream it is what we do. Building custom is about listening, and connecting with someone's desires, and transforming it into a finished product.
What have you been dreaming about lately? Drop us a line, and we will listen.

JUST SCRAP......

I just read a great blog by A J Hamler who writes Over the workbench.  It was called, "Don't call it scrap" and I made an immediate connection. If you are a furniture maker, or wood worker, I'm sure you would agree.
We all set aside special pieces of wood. Cut offs from larger boards or pieces of plywood.  These cast offs often become more special than the piece they came from.  I too have my piles of specials. They aren't sorted by species, but mostly by size. Larger boards are there in a bin under the boxes of the smallest pieces of wood trim and hardware  I've accumulated.  The wall  behind the scroll saw is for reclaimed wood, and the wooden box for mitre saw cut offs is over flowing. I also have a shelf for the most special pieces I needed to save, some walnut  pieces saved for years. I justify all of this because I do make some small projects, and this material is great for that, but I must admit that A J Hamler summed it up best with this quote: "I'm saving it faster than I'm using it".
So true.

A REAL BARGAIN......

Have you seen my custom, Arts and Crafts drop front desk?  This piece is a real bargain, and let me tell you why.

Drop front desks have been around for a while. They were popular at the beginning of the 20th century, and were generally used for writing letters, or serving as a functional desk. G. Stickley  was one of the top furniture producers and made several different styles of these desks.

Not many people may know this, but just last week, Sunday May 20th 2012, the Treadway Toomey Gallery of Oak Park Ill. held an auction of original Stickley pieces from the John L. Jerome collection. One of the surprise pieces was a drop front desk, somewhat familiar to my original design. Both Stickley's design, and my piece are made of select quartered Oak, and are very close in size. The Stickley desk was made in 1902, and would have been great for letter writing. His desk also came with a wicker basket,( that would no longer serve a purpose today.)  My design has been revised to be in step with today's way of communicating,  lap top computers, though you could also use it to write a letter. There are however two very large differences between the original Stickley drop front desk, and my humble Arts and Crafts interpretation. First, the Stickley piece is clearly marked with a red logo on the back panel, and secondly the Stickley piece sold for $51, 850. That piece is gone, but you can still purchase mine for $1, 495. Now that's a real bargain.

ONE AT A TIME.....

As a small independent studio, that's how we do things. We can't, and don't ever want to compete with the big companies. We have worked for some of those places, but now  choose to do things the way we think they should be done. One at a time.
Building pieces like this computer desk, reflect  simple design elements from the past, and resized to fit todays interiors and customers needs. A work surface for a lap top, and a note pad, or book. A storage drawer for the essentials, and that's it. The smaller size is all that's needed to get the job done well, and in style. Because it is made like furniture used to be made, it will last you no matter how many time you move.

 This custom desk is made of the finest grade  Michigan Cherry, and hand built to last a lifetime. The finish too, is a custom formulated stain, developed only for us. Hand shading, and padding an important part of our finish process,can only  be carefully done when building one piece at a time. Isn't this the type of craftsmanship you would want your special piece of furniture to be built with?
Contact us with any questions or requests you may have.  We have the time to build something  just for you.

Batteries not required......

Made in America.  We hear that a lot more these days, but what does that really mean?  I believe that American craftsmanship refuses to become extinct, though at times I feel like the last of a dying breed. I grew up in the "wonder years", the 50's.  It was a time when kids were left to their own imaginations, a time of discovery, but does that magic still exist today?

If you were lucky, you had a few of dad's hand tools to borrow. A hammer, a saw, a hatchet, and maybe a brace and several bits for drilling holes when needed and of course a jack knife. When a project needed lumber, we searched the town or dump for discards, or disassembled something we had built before, and reworked it into a tree house, a rocket, race car, raft, or fort or countless other things. Nails were precious, and didn't always come easy. We got our nails by pulling them from old boards, and pounding them straight, ready to be used again. The extras, were collected in a coffee can. The projects required a lot of time and energy. We often started in the morning , and worked until dusk, stopping for lunch, supper and an occasional drink from a garden hose. Nothing happened instantly, but we did see our dreams come true.
We dug holes, chopped trees, sawed and hammered boards and when everything was complete, we stood back and it was silent. No thumping radios, push button sound effects or flashing lights. We used our imaginations for that too.Growling engines, shifting gears and squealing tires and countless other sounds came from our voices or materials at hand to create our world and make it complete.

Children should know that the events in their lives can come from within, that they can create a wonderful world from their own imaginations and that can lead to a life of enjoyment. I am glad that I grew up knowing what "Made in America" really meant, and where the ideas came from. I don't know if I can ever get all of my dreams completed in this lifetime, because the list keeps growing.

Limited Edition Furniture.....

Limited edition is the new buzzword in furniture design. The demand for unique furniture is steadily increasing. Prototypes, one offs and limited product lines are celebrating a cult of individuality for furniture in all price categories.

In today's global environment of standardization, the exclusive, and one of a kind objects created with an artistic flair are becoming the most coveted. Our interiors have become more eclectic and  people are collecting pieces for  there aesthetic appeal as well as functionality. Individual and small shop craftsmen are filling this need by producing quality pieces combining industrial materials with a craftsman's approach in  detailed construction. We are even seeing old furniture lines trying to offer customization of their products.

Most of today's furniture producers will never reach the cult status of the Campana Brothers (Sushi II,chair in photo) who's highly sought after work auctions for hundreds of thousands of dollars in the "design Art " world, but for the creators of custom furniture in the main stream, the challenge and excitement of creating pieces that will make your home uniquely yours, is what keeps us all going forward.

Black Friday...

Did you get caught up in the Midnight frenzy of Black Friday ?  The  excitement created for the special sales event reminded me of the days I worked for Baker Furniture, and helped out with their annual furniture sale.  Baker Furniture has been a manufacturer of high end furniture for over 100 years, and their annual clearance sale was legendary. Here was your chance to but exceptional pieces of furniture at a great price. 

The sale was held at the Baker Furniture headquarters and giant warehouse on Monroe Ave. in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Furniture of all descriptions were offered at deep discounts. Some pieces were new, and still in the carton,over runs, obsolete pieces, canceled orders and showroom  returns made up  the produce mix. Like black Friday sales, it was about great prices, limited quantities, and competitive hunting.

a few people would arrive several days before, and camp out in the parking lot to assure themselves a first spot in line, while another small group would fly into Grand Rapids for the event. Other creative shoppers would arrive as a group wearing color coordinated shirts or silly hats to be able to spot each other as they divided the territory in the 100, 000 sq. ft warehouse. Maps would be handed out showing locations of the various groups of furniture. Upholstery, bedrooms, dining rooms, etc. and they were ready to buy!

The Baker sale was a big event. Local TV  and newspaper crews would cover the first morning opening ceremony when the crowd would stampede through the doors for that special something. Occasional fights broke out over a special sofa, or dining table, but for the most part it was a festive event and most everyone had a good time. There are many parallels between the Baker sale and Black Friday.  The simple truth is that people still like to find a bargin, and the excitement of the hunt is a thrill many of us enjoy. Happy hunting,  shopping!