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The distinction our furniture has from that commonly found in most stores is created from the passion our
craftsmen have for the fine art of
furniture making. It is quality without compromise. It's an educated
sensitivity to form, function, balance and beauty and our personal need to make
life more meaningful. More than a job it is a way of life. We sign
and date each piece because our work is who we are.
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We handcraft our furniture with traditional joinery
methods using contemporary tools. For example, mortise-and-tenon joints
are used extensively in construction. Although usually
hidden from view, the mortise-and-tenon is strong and durable. The East/West
Chair has 26 mortise-and-tenon joints with each
tenon locked in place with a wooden cross pin to ensure that the joint
won't fail.
Pinned through mortise-and-tenon joints are visible and used in the construction of
our Morris chair. |
| Another traditional method of joinery is the
interlocking dovetail. In addition to providing a joint that is unsurpassed in
strength and will not pull apart, the visually recognizable dovetail
enhances the beauty of a piece of furniture.
All of our quilt chests are constructed using this joint, ensuring that they will
last a lifetime. In
addition, the drawers in all of our case goods are dovetailed, front and back. |
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Although people typically do not think about the quality of
the wood used in construction, materials of the highest quality
are necessary for the overall integrity of a piece of furniture. Our furniture is constructed
primarily from premium American Black
Cherry, harvested from the Appalachian Mountains of Pennsylvania, New York and West
Virginia. Since we do not use stains, matching the natural wood's color and grain
pattern to maintain balance is extremely
important. Consequently, our craftsmen take extra
time to carefully select specific boards appropriate for each component
making up the piece of furniture. The time required for this
attention to detail results in a more beautiful piece of furniture and is simply not available today
in factories that mass produce
furniture.
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True quality and integrity are often manifest in the
obscure. When you look at the back
of one of our cases, you will not find a piece of plywood or
masonite stapled to the case. The backs are
constructed from 5/8” solid poplar.
After
the individual boards are milled and sized, they are then ship-lapped and
fastened. This allows the wood to
expand and contract with changes in temperature and humidity.
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Dust panels are placed between every drawer in
all of our cases. This not
only increases the strength of the piece, but it also serves as a lid to
keep the
drawer contents cleaner and prevents an overstuffed drawer from catching on the
drawer rail.
The drawers in our furniture have finished interiors. This makes a lining unnecessary and
prevents delicate clothing from snagging. A well made case needs no hardware such as metal slides
to make the drawers operate smoothly. Our carefully fitted and hand sanded
drawers will provide a lifetime of carefree operation.
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After final hand sanding, a coat of oil is applied. The piece is
allowed to dry for approximately 24 hours and then is rubbed with fine
steel wool to further smooth the surface. This process is repeated 2 to 3
more times followed by a coat of wax.. This labor intensive
method of finishing a piece
of furniture is not only extremely durable, but it also reveals the wood's distinctive natural color and
grain. The result is a surface that is both resilient and pleasing to the
eye and to the touch.
Our finish is the foundation of the rich patina that will develop over the
years.
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