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Benefits of Handcrafted Furniture |
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Benefits Of Handcrafted Furniture
Finding Your Furniture Maker
By Robert Waddell
Hammond Bay Furniture Studio
Imagine
the beauty of a piece of functional art, the
practicality of your favourite piece of furniture, and
in a design that "Defines your Style". A piece of
handmade furniture that stands on its own like a piece
of personalized art, a piece that is completely
functional with structural integrity and practicality.
Custom furniture is the perfect way to bring your
creativity and your unique design into your home or
office. We all strive to have our homes unique and to
have our interior space reflect our individuality and
style, which it should.
It can
be very difficult to find exactly what you're looking
for in a run-of-the mill cookie cutter furniture store.
With even more furniture stores in the market place than
ever before, it doesn't make it easier to find that
exact design, measurements or materials that you desire.
In fact, it can make it harder! The market place of
mediocrity is overwhelming with its catch phrases,
hollow promises, and lack of quality. They lay out their
wares in such a way as to make you think and feel that
what they offer is what defines your individuality and
style. When really it doesn't!
One
saying worth remembering as you look at furniture or any
luxury item is:
“The
bitterness of poor quality lingers, long after the
sweetness of the low price has faded from ones memory”.
When you
choose to have a furniture maker design and build that
“uniquely you” piece of furniture or set, you then
embark on a path of truly finding, “Your Style”.
Choosing
to commission a piece of custom furniture brings many
benefits. You're able to specify the size, details,
function and its, oh so unique. For example, a unit to
fit into the corner of a study might require very
accurate measurements in order to fit. You might have
down sized to a condo and need a dining table of a
certain height and length. Or possibly you'd like that
table and chairs in a particular wood. Custom furniture
is the answer to your interior design nightmares, and it
can in fact pull your interior design together to
complete the look that you want.
Custom
built furniture as a rule is never duplicated again.
Even if it was, the nature of handcrafted is each will be slightly different, be it in
the gaining of the wood, species of wood,
detailing or the finish. There is no better way to make
a statement on your individual style than to include a
“signature” piece of furniture in your home or office.
You will
always have a special attachment to that piece of
furniture, that you had a hand in designing, as it is
much more personal than the usual offerings of the
common marketplace.
To get a
truly outstanding piece of custom furniture, you need to
choose your craftsman carefully. How will you find an
individual furniture maker.?
In this
wired in world the first step would be to do some online
searches of your community or area. Be aware that the
majority of these individual craftsmen generally don't
have large budgets for advertisements, but rather work
by word of mouth referrals. Check with local
organizations such as the local arts council in your
area. Not all furniture makers work in large commercial
spaces; many toil in simple surrounds turning out unique
one-off pieces or sets of furniture. A friend of mine
has his shop in a rented storage unit of approximately
10 feet by 14 feet in size, although rather cramped by
my standards, he turns out some of most amazing hand
made furniture you'll find anywhere.
Now,
once you've found a prospective craftsman arrange a
meeting, look at the items in his workshop or studio, or
what he has created for other clients. See what he or
she lives with themselves for furniture, you might be
surprised at how warm and inviting the space is that
they live in, it may be exactly what you're looking for.
You need
someone who can turn your vision into reality. Your
craftsman should have a distinct flair for design. A
custom piece of furniture should not simply replicate an
ordinary item. Search for someone with an eye for
design, who can blend practicality, function and style
into your final piece of hand crafted furniture.
The best
way to commission custom furniture is by working in
partnership with your chosen craftsman. In this union,
your ideas with his or her passion and skills will be
harnessed to create the unique and ideal design. Be open
to suggestions after all it's the craftsman who holds
the knowledge of what works with timber and what
doesn’t.
Using a
local craftsman enhances your experience. Putting your
trust in someone who lives in the the same community or
general area is easier and far more rewarding than using
a sales person from a commercial company, that is motivated by
the sale of the item only.
When you
take the opportunity of commissioning custom furniture
you can make the most of local resources. You have a say
in what occurs, specify that your furniture be made from
timber from your own community or country. If other
craftsmen need to be involved, insist they be sourced
locally if possible.
Custom
furniture is not only an incredibly unique and special
product to invest in, but will also benefit your local
community and support environmentally friendly methods
of practice.
Now get
designing and enjoy seeing your vision come to life
before your eyes with that piece of furniture for your
home or office that will truly “Define your Style”.
The next
article in this series will explain Valuation of
Handcrafted Furniture.
Robert
Waddell - Furniture maker
Hammond
Bay Furniture Studio
Nanaimo,
B.C.
More
information is available on my web site
hammondbayfurniture.ca
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