On the studio floor

A sampling of unusual projects now being created in our custom services department

January/February 2003

Happy New Year!

It seems like I just got used to the fact that it really was the year 2000. So how did it get to be 2003 already? Anyway, its been a few months since the last posting-- a lot to catch up on. Here are some of the highlights...

Monk's Hill 'Pumpkin'


	A big part of the process on a Monk's Hill 'Pumpkin' finish is the liberal use of genuine dewaxed Garnet shellac. Four coats! There's nothing quite like it to impart the deep, multilayered color that gives 'Pumpkin' the deep brilliance of a gemstone. The masking shows the tone of the Garnet shellac.

Nouveau Nouveau

		This is the header to an Art Nouveau entertainment center that is working its way through production. Honduras Mahogany solids and veneers, hand carved throughout.

Sofa Back Table

Part of the 'Tatami' collection. Paldao and Ash, with geniune through tenons connecting legs to tabletop. The legs oh-so-gently curve (trust me) and the top features a subtle flared edge on two opposing corners.

Smoke and mirrors

	Okay, no smoke. But an absolute black mirror finish on this Art Deco inspired credenza. A furniture restoration specialist happened to be on the jobsite when we delivered this piece; he nearly refused to believe it was made of wood ('It's got to be metal! Nobody can get wood that shiny!'). Truth be told, he was almost right. He should have said almost nobody can get wood that shiny.

Entry Doors

	These doors were fresh out of the veneer press at the taking of this photo. The design, quite simple. Two slab doors with glass cutouts and veneered faces. Perhaps the word should be deceptively simple. In fact, each door is an interlocking jigsaw puzzle of lumber, custom molding, medium and high density fiberboard, bonded with ultra-strong urea resin glue. Each 'slab' actually consists of 25 pieces, individually designed to give the strength of lumber in the narrow sections, and the stability of fiberboard in the wide expanses. The net result is a pair of doors weighing in at over 300 lbs. But unlike the original design (which called for cutting holes out of a manufactured particle board slab door!), these will stand the test of time.

Come on back, they'll be more next month, or sooner if the mood strikes me!

Last Month's On the Floor