Each piece of my furniture is made from trees for appearance, durability and sustainability, I prefer to build rustic wood furniture with native and naturalized hardwoods to West Virginia. A partial species list includes Apple, Maple, Cherry, Hickory, Locust, Beach, White and Red Oak, Black Walnut. After harvesting, the wood is air-seasoned for two or more years before being selected for its uniq
ue shape, species and dimensions to become an integral part of a furniture piece. It is then hand peeled and sanded, retaining its unique character. I allow the natural form of the wood to dictate the furniture I make. It’s almost as if the forks, arches, twists and graceful curves cry out to become legs, arm rests, or chair backs. It maybe that I’m hearing things, but once completed, there’s no denying what the eye sees. Whether it’s a table, bench, chair, rocker, headboard, lamp,or a staff, each piece of furniture is a unique one-of-a-kind creation. And I assure you there are none others like it, as I do not use patterns or plans in its construction. Most of the joinery in my rustic wood furniture is mortise and tennon, with high quality glue or urethanes as an adhesive. Other joints sometimes require the use of screws that are then plugged for a uniform wood surface. Although my passion is creating rustic pieces from raw woods I do build some pieces with milled dimensional lumber. I do enjoy working with ruff sawn cedar to build
Once a piece of my furniture is completed and brought into a home, the natural forms and character of the wood "come alive". As the eye follows the twists and contours of this style of furniture it's difficult not to feel something unexplainable from your piece of useful and attractive furniture that will be here for generations.
