Commissioning

CREATING YOUR FAVORITE PIECE OF FURNITURE
It starts with a problem that you’re trying to solve for storage in your living room. The dream of a new coffee table that becomes the center of your living room and sets the tone when entertaining. Completing a room by making a favorite place to read and relax with a cup of coffee.

It’s a chance to explore what moves you and assert your values of quality and longevity. My main objective in creating furniture is to build the best piece I can. That involves using time tested joinery, curating the grain of the wood in each part and delving into the details.

UNDERSTANDING YOUR VISION
Talking with a designer is when your vision begins to first gain clarity. The conversation we’ll have will be about what you want the piece to do for your space and how you want it to function in your life. This part of the process is about turning a vague idea into dimensions that make sense and an object that fits the space and functions like you want it to.

COMING UP WITH A BUDGET
I make furniture that is designed to last several lifetimes. It’s often not cheap but once you understand the number of hours involved you find it’s quite reasonable for the value it will add to your life. Most of our ideas of value today are influenced by a quick search on the internet. It’s easy to get a false sense of price in doing this that provides you with a distorted sense of what’s possible. Budget a little more, you won’t have to replace the piece for the rest of your life. The level of detail within a piece has an effect on the final price. Also, the type of joinery and the level of complication will contribute to a higher price.

WORKING DRAWINGS
Once we have an idea of the direction of the piece and we’re comfortable with the price range for a piece the next step is to come up with the concept for the piece. I’ll work to bring together everything we’ve talked about so far. Taking an aesthetic idea and working within the boundaries set by the sizes, goals for the piece and work through the technical aspects of the joinery and issues with wood movement as well as implement my artistic vision for the piece.

APPROVAL OF DRAWINGS
Once we agree on a final working drawing, a deposit of 25% to 50% of the final price will be required to get the piece in the queue and begin work.

SELECTION OF WOOD
The next part of the process for me is purchasing wood for the project. It’s typical that I won’t be able to start a piece immediately because of other work but I try to buy wood as soon as I can to give it at least a few weeks in the shop before beginning to work with it. Wood doesn’t take well to be rushed into shape.

COMPLETING THE WORK
At any point during the process I welcome you to make a visit to see your piece progress. I also post regular updates on Instagram that you can follow along to see how your piece is progressing. Before we start the work, we’ll decide upon the payment schedule. Depending upon the price of a piece as well as what is easiest for you there will be progress payments due as the work is completed.

DELIVERY
If we’re close enough to each other I’ll make the delivery myself. Pieces can also be shipped by a number of reputable carriers that are used to handling delicate work. The final payment is due either when I deliver the piece or before a shipper picks up a piece.

WHAT DOES THE PROCESS LOOK LIKE?

It varies of course. However, there is a lot in common from one custom project to another. This process is one of the things that differentiates my work. I put a lot of thought into each project and curate each piece of a project to get the look and feeling I want a project to convey. Click here to follow along on the process of one project to get a better idea of some of the things involved.

NOT YET READY TO COMMIT?
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