My Handmade Furniture

My Handmade Furniture & Stuff

I've always loved building and creating things, especially if I could somehow re-purpose materials that I found.  Way back in 2001, I toured The Gamble House in Pasadena, CA, and totally fell in love with the Arts & Crafts movement of the early 1900's.  I really connected with the clean, uncluttered lines and simple designs that showcased and honored the materials and fine construction rather than useless adornments that were popular in the Victorian era that preceeded the Arts & Crafts movement.

I was especially drawn to the works of Gustav Stickley, Stickley's brothers Leopold and John George and the works of Greene and Greene.  

After touring The Gamble House, I visited their on-site bookstore and I bought my first book on Arts & Crafts furniture construction.  Shortly thereafter, I had collected quite a library of A&C related books and I was reading everything I could get my hands on.

I started out small and my first project was a Limbert waste paper basket, which I no longer have.  With each project I gained more experience and collected more of the tools I needed to get more  involved.  Along the way, I learned a great deal about construction techniques, materials and finishing and I loved every minute of it.

Here are most of the pieces I've built over the years and I'll add more as I go.  

This L&JG inspired grandfather clock is my favorite piece that I've built.

I need to put the movement back in, which I removed so that I could

move the clock without damaging it.  You should hear this baby 

chime every hour!

I also built two Gustav Stickley chairs, one of which is beside

the clock.  I had to learn to weave the caning on the seats.

This Stickley "Morris Chair" is also one of my favorite pieces.  This one took me a while to

build because I had to build a steaming chamber in order to bend the gentle arcs in the

seat back and arms.  I also built the little footstool to match.

Gustav Stickley had a genius designer working for him named Harvey Ellis and this bed is

a copy of one of his designs.  Originally, Stickley had pewter inlays in the slats, but I wasn't

able to melt and shape pewter, so I used lead solder instead and it came out great.

  I built this nightstand, which is also a Harvey Ellis design.  Eillis liked 

to use a few curves and taper his uprights to give his pieces a bowed look.

I built this little Stickley table lamp out of an old oak towel rack that

I had removed from my bathroom.  I don't think I could have gotten that

much bend in the oak on my own.  I hammered copper pipe flat to 

make the metal parts and welded the "T" onto which the globe mounts.

It gives off a very nice, soothing light.

I built my son a Harvey Ellis inspired bed too, but his doesn't have the inlays.  He's in 

college now, so maybe he'll use it for his kids one day--I hope so.

I built this end table, which is an L&JG Stickley design.

My mom gave me an old antique clock that used to hang in a Western

Union office in New Mexico.  It quit working and she bought a new 

movement and years later it quit working again.  So I took the two old clock

movements and welded them together to make this lamp.  I found the lamp

base in someone's trash pile years ago and I knew I'd eventually

find a use for it.

In college I had a futon (didn't every college student) that a friend described

as "an uncomfortable couch that folded out into and even more 

uncomfortable bed."  After college, I wanted to get rid of the futon, but I 

didn't want to waste the wood, so I broke it down and later made this 

Stickley lamp.  It was one of my earlier projects.

I also made this Stickley-inspired table out of that old futon.

I had some scrap wood leftover from some of my larger projects and I didn't want it to go to waste, 

so I made a few smaller projects and this wall mirror was one of them.

This Greene & Greene inspired wall lantern was also made

from smaller scraps from larger projects.  I learned some basic

stained glass skills for this one.

When I finally got a house with an entry way, I needed a hall tree, so I 

built this guy.  This is my own design, but it was definitely 

Stickley inspired.  Thanks Gustav...

More small projects from leftover scrap wood.

This was one of my first projects.  As you can see, I still had a thing or

two to learn about finishing.  That's my son when he was just a little guy.

I took the photo, printed it in my darkroom (before the digital revolution) and

made the frame.  Didn't I say I like building things...

I built this simple hall mirror to fill in a little niche' at my old house.  

I'm still looking for a place to hang it in my present house.

I found an old gemologists work bench at an estate sale and I thought it'd make and

awesome coffee table.  I lightly refinished the work top (I liked the character marks that

were on it) and I welded a base.  To finish the base, I used gun bluing (like you see on

handguns).  I always wanted a coffee table that you can put your feet up on and

be comfortable and this table fits the bill.

I'm sure you've seen the Native American flute players known as

Kokopellis.  They seem so happy playing their flute and I feel that

same happiness with that first morning cup of coffee, so my Kokopelli

is dancing with a steaming cup-o-java.