Incollect Magazine - Issue 14

Incollect Magazine 87 But I still like using joinery and the elements of structure as visual elements within otherwise spare or minimal contemporary forms.” He works 7 days a week in the studio, beginning his day quite early, around 6:30, “to start orienting myself for the day ahead.” He removes clamps from the previous day’s glue-ups, cleans up, and then does some sketching and tends to emails. “I return to work in the studio around 8 am for the day, until around 6 pm. I’m working on ongoing projects; I always have two or three underway and I like to bounce between them. Some days I spend more time at my drafting table, if I’m getting underway with something new or on a deadline.” The idea for a design frequently starts from an aspect or detail of a piece that he is presently building. “Often one feature can suggest or unlock the idea for a whole new structure by simply following its own internal logic,“ he says. Other times, ideas come from sketches in his notebook. “I do a lot of free sketching,” he explains, “playing with ideas of structures. I think about gestures, stances, and balance, and my sketching explores these. When I go back through the pages of drawings, I gravitate to ones that seem especially fresh, different.” He works mostly in walnut, he says, “for its natural beauty.” But he also likes and works with ash and oak for their grain textures and tones, as well as maple for its smooth, tight grain. “Mostly I am working with the available domestic hardwoods, though I have used other, exotic woods in several pieces. For example, I’ve used a lot of genuine mahogany that I consider very beautiful and enjoyable to work with, to shape and carve,” he says. “I especially like to ebonize it with a dye or various other solutions. The grain of the mahogany stays visible, has movement, and provides a useful, beautiful pairing with the rich, varied tones of the walnut.” His most successful designs are his console tables, of which there are many. The Crane Console table is especially popular and can be produced in many materials and finishes. Its aerodynamic shape is immediately striking, but up close, you can see that the component pieces are finely joined with handcrafted mortise and tenon joinery. It’s then hand-sculpted to a final, elegant form and finished in a manner that highlights natural wood grains. Left: The Tapered Cattail Cabinet in black walnut, the Tapered Frame Mirror in black walnut, and the ingeniously designed Wedge Console Table. A knock-down piece with three components plus a wedge which, when inserted, locks the whole structure in place. The hand-cut precision joinery is all visible, and it ships flat. In walnut with a hand-rubbed oil finish. Right: Cirrus 3 Console in walnut with a hand-rubbed oil finish. At the end of the hall is a Tapered Frame Side Table, which is also available in a round top version.