Incollect Magazine - Issue 14

86 www.incollect.com woodworking bench with vises, and a larger one that rolls away to create open floor space when needed. “It’s a really good place not only to work, but to meet with clients to discuss projects because they can see so much,” Blaney says, “from the variety of raw materials to the models, from the in-process work to the finished pieces up in the showroom.” Blaney’s body of original furniture can best be described as eclectic and evolving. “I don’t want to limit myself,” he says, “and so I keep on exploring and experimenting with new forms.” He also has a growing portfolio of varied custom projects. “Things are always a little different when you are working with parameters imposed on you, as with a custom commissioned piece for a particular use and a particular space, but I like the challenge of coming up with creative solutions for clients. It can be a lot of fun.” Laura Knoll is one of his many admiring and dedicated clients, having commissioned a bed and a desk for her new home. “Eben is an amazing craftsperson and artist, but he is also incredibly skilled at translating and guiding a client’s vision for a custom built piece. He is patient and meticulous and displays curiosity and delight in developing a new design. His many sketches allowed me to figure out what I was really looking for, and Eben was always eager to spend time explaining materials and construction.” Blaney’s influences are varied, he says, from Japanese design, Shaker, and mid-century furniture to African sculpture. But his designs are usually so “highly distilled” by the time they’re realized in a finished piece that it is difficult to pinpoint an original inspiration. “That said,” he adds, “I’m pretty sure that the fair curves of Maine boat hulls and the structural elements of boatbuilding found their way into several of my designs, noticeably my Cirrus Console Table designs.” Growing up in Maine with a tradition of wood craftsmanship informs his use of certain joinery elements as visual details. “Being self-trained as an artist and woodworker, my education in furniture design came on the job,” he says. “I first gravitated to the Arts & Crafts and Craftsmen movements with the exposed joinery and celebration of the craftsmanship. As my awareness grew, the artist in me quickly moved to more spare, sculptural work. Top: The Cormorant Console has an ebonized, elliptical tiger maple top on a split-sided, hand-sculpted black walnut base with blackwood pegs at points of exposed joinery. Middle: Both subtle and distinctive in overall form and details, the Farmhouse Modern dining table is constructed of all solid walnut. Arched leg panels pierced by a trapezoidal stretcher and beveled table- top edges give the table a light, refined appearance. Bottom: The Fancy Breakfast Table, with special details that make it fancy, indeed. This distinctive, sculptural table has a black lacquered maple top with walnut supports and a pedestal base of curved, black lacquered maple joined to walnut feet with a walnut support disk.