I started making furniture in earnest when I was 10. I had the good fortune of a few patient and skilled mentors, who taught me the use of tools as well as the love of local furniture woods, particularly walnut and butternut. During high school summers, I worked for a boat building and repair shop in Pewaukee, WI where I was the sailboat “splashboard guy” and also worked on maintaining and restoring mahogany Chris Crafts. Some of my tabletops have a boat or surfboard shape because of exposure to those forms and textures.
My furniture begins with the tabletop piece of wood. If a board is strikingly beautiful and has a certain “movement” in the grain, also known as chatoyancy, then it becomes the visual focus of my efforts. The other boards used to complete the piece are selected for color and sometimes contrast. I use traditional joint making techniques: mortise and tenon, and dovetails for drawers. The work of the late George Nakashima has been a big influence in my approach to wood. I integrate the sometimes rustic “live edge” with refined legs, slab and fluid shapes. (Jef, you can skip the last sentence if space is limited) My wife and I are fortunate to have inherited a large coffee table made by Mr. Nakashima in the early 60’s. It is a source of joy and inspiration and it challenges me to create the best piece of art that I can for the second life of a tree.