furniture

• nice table, super cheap!

  
  I don’t want to turn H&H into something especially commercial, and the ads that are here are necessary to pay for our hosting and other such stuff. However, I saw this on one of those "all the deals on Amazon" sites and thought folks here might find it useful or interesting.

  This table, while not spectacularly beautiful, looks sturdy and is certainly fantastically cheap. $20! Looks like it’s going out of stock, so there might not be many available, but if you need something like this, you won’t find a better deal, that’s for sure.

• Craigslist finds, May 2007: West Coast Edition

  Plenty of nice stuff out there if you know where to look. Included for your edification, several bits & pieces of Arts & Crafts furniture, architectural salvage and other related items that I’ve found using the terrific Craigslist search engine Crazedlist.

  • refinished Limbert dresser with original copper hardware, $1000 (San Francisco CA)
  • document or sample cabinet, $340 (Santa Cruz CA)
  • Gustav Stickley ladderback chair, $475 (Santa Cruz CA)
  • L & JG Stickley "postal desk" and rocker, $500 ea (Glendora CA)
  • set of 4 early Mission Revival / Craftsman side chairs and 1 armchair, $350 (Ventura CA)
  • Stickley #729 writing desk, $5900 (Montecito CA)
  • round pedestal dining table, $600 (Sherman Oaks CA)
  • set of four c1925 Stickley side chairs, $3600 (Las Vegas NV)
  • set of two contemporary Stickley spindle-back armchairs, $1300 (Del Mar CA)
  • contemporary glass-top Stickley coffee table, $250 (San Diego CA)
  • L & JG Stickley armless rocker, $500 (Portland OR)
  • another Stickley armless rocker, this one with new-ish leather seat, $250 (Portland OR)
  • Stickley Bros. rocker, needs minor repair, $225 (Tacoma WA)
  • drop-leaf Mission desk, $275 (Alameda CA)
• Stickley museum opens in Fayetteville / Manlius, New York

  A few articles on the grand opening of the Stickley museum on the third floor of the Stickley-Audi factory in Manlius, New York.

  • Fayetteville (New York)’s News 10 reports on the opening itself and has a bit of video from the new exhibits; and
  • the Syracuse Post-Standard has a short note on the opening celebration, as well as some comments from readers, and a longer article printed the day of the opening is also available.
• for sale: Stickley Bros. sideboard, $4200

  
  reader Jen Orsini forwards us a Craigslist advertisement for a signed Stickley Bros. sideboard with mirrored backsplash. The "’Quaint’ Furniture" label is visible and in good shape, and the piece looks to be in wonderful overall condition from what I can see in these small images. The piece is located in Santa Ana, California, just outside of Los Angeles. Call Tom at 714.319.0505 if you are interested in this pretty piece of furniture.

• Settle & Loveseat on Ebay

  

  Reader Dan Dutra sends us this attractive sofa & loveseat, made by Strictly Wood Furniture and now
  for sale on Ebay for the excellent price of (currently) $1225. It’s here in my town – Sacramento, CA – but since I just got a new sofa it’s not for me, but someone will get a good deal here.

  Each piece is in a spindle design and built of quarter-sawn oak, and all the upholstery is a lovely caramel Italian leather. The total for both pieces from the manufacturer today would be just under $14,000, plus shipping.

• Tansus Step In – from Sunset magazine, January 1999

  This January 1999 article by Kristine Carber and Chadine Flood Gong (which includes a guide on tansu shopping) is from Sunset magazine. Read the entire article on findarticles.com.

  We see them in bedrooms, living rooms, kitchens, and baths –
  Japanese storage chests and cabinets called tansus. Once found mostly
  in the homes of connoisseurs of Asian art, the wood chests are rapidly
  finding a broader market. "Tansus adapt well to the Western home
  because they blend effectively with contemporary and traditional
  designs," says Seattle designer Kristine Donovick.

  San Jose design partners Patricia McDonald and Marcia Moore agree.
  "We’ve been using them for years, but now more clients are asking for
  them because they are so beautiful and versatile," says Moore.

  Most tansus are square or rectangular, but some, originally used as
  freestanding staircases, have interesting stepped shapes. They began
  appearing in Japan in the latter half of the 17th century and were used
  in houses, for storing clothes and cooking equipment, and on merchant
  ships, to store documents for safekeeping. By the 1800s, they had
  become familiar furnishings in Japanese homes. Highly lacquered pieces
  graced the houses of the nobility; simple wood chests were found in
  country homes.

• More on Tansu

  
  Since I got so many letters asking for more information on Japanese cabinetry and tansu in particular, I’ve kept my eyes open for more striking examples (and good deals!) of such items.

  • Evert Sondergren "is a fourth-generation cabinetmaker who has been refining his skill for over 55 years." This frame/panel tansu is made of Eucalyptus and iroko woods, and goes for $5000. He has made similar designs from maple, koa and other woods.
  • Glenn Richards Asian Furnishings & Antiques sell a number of good looking tansu, some antique and some contemporary. They also offer custom design and build services.
  • This custom home on the Oregon coast is full of some beautiful built-in cabinetry in the style of Japanese tansu, all of which fits in seamlessly with the contemporary design of the house.
  • There are a few striking antique pieces up on Ebay’s Live Auction site, all with low starting prices and reasonably estimates. This two-part Paulownia wood tansu has some really nice hardware on it.
  • Ebay also has items for auction, of course, and a few good-looking tansu for sale from individual dealers as well, like this kiri / hinoki / sugi isho tansu for $1195. If you are in southern California, this pick-up only item – a Meiji-era steep step tansu, or kaidan tansu – will go for just under $3000. Hiromitsu Japan sells all sorts of Japanese antiques through their ebay store, including this immaculately-maintained choba (or document / merchant) tansu, at $1750 plus shipping from Sapporo, Japan.
  • We’ve written once or twice before about Greentea Design, who carry a number of contemporary Japanese tansu (including a range of step tansu), and also do some really amazing custom kitchen cabinets in this style.
  • Should you be in California’s East Bay area, you’ll certainly want to stop and visit two wonderful shops; while the well-known Berkeley Mills do some spectacular work in the Craftsman / Japanese fusion style, less-known is the terrific Hana Japanese Antiques, just off Solano Avenue near the Solano Tunnel; this tiny shop is always chock-full of great pieces of art and furniture in a wide range of styles and prices, straight from Japan, and the owners are friendly and informative.
  • Jo-Ann Kaiser’s article details a 1999 custom kitchen by Peter Cyr based on Japanese tansu designs.

  pictured: a Showa-era mizuya tansu from Hana Japanese Antiques

• furniture for typographers

  

  Based on an idea from his teacher, master printer Gerald Lange, our good friend Hrant Papazian of The MicroFoundry has developed a unique piece of furniture for the discerning typographer. There’s also a Flickr set of the first production model.

  Essentially a glass-top coffee table that gracefully accommodates a drawer of letterpress type, the TypeTable nicely exhibits an instance of high craft for discernment by the typographic aficionado, and is itself crafted to high standards: sturdy but elegant construction, to a tolerance of 1/32 of an inch; 1/2-inch beveled glass; and easy movement of the type drawer into and out of the framework, ensuring that the font is not converted into a “museum piece” but instead remains a dignified, usable resource. Note that the purchase of the TypeTable does not include a drawer of type; this must be provided by the customer, although The MicroFoundry would gladly help in procuring a drawer.
  
  
  With the drawer of type removed, the table reveals its attractive lattice midboard, which can be used to exhibit other items (up to 1-1/2 inches in height) making this piece of “typographic furniture” highly versatile.

  The TypeTable is offered for sale at US$555 (plus delivery costs) and is manufactured on a first-come, first-served basis. Please direct all inquiries (including interest in tables that accommodate more than one drawer) to Hrant Papazian.

• book review: Country Furniture

  My colleague Derek Martin, a woodworker here in Sacramento, was kind enough to review a copy of Aldren Watson’s Country Furniture for Hewn & Hammered. The book is a reprint of the 1957 original edition, and includes all original illustrations.

  As an avid hobbyist for the last fifteen or so years, I have spent much of my free time focused on wood working. It came as no surprise to me that I would enjoy reading this book after quickly skimming through it to see some wonderful illustrations that would get my immediate attention and spark my interest in reading it as well.

  This book not only examined the materials and techniques that were used by master craftsmen of past centuries, but also addressed even the most subtle changes in wood furniture building up to more recent times. Changes to this art form mentioned by Mr. Watson were mainly brought on by wood supply, reengineered tools, and the evolving change in personal tastes.

  As a modern day woodworker with fairly modern day tools I now have a greater appreciation for those who developed and made popular the art of crafting wood. I also have a better understanding of how making hand-crafted pieces from wood started out of necessity and not just for the beauty of it’s finished product. All different types of woods from all different places on the map were used initially for their hardness, longevity, availability and then their beauty.

  The illustrations in this book alone are worth picking it up for, but just wait until you see and read about joinery that could help you in your next project. I have already experimented with some techniques that I learned in the book and I was fully satisfied with the result.

  I would recommend this book to anyone interested in woodworking or even collecting antique furniture. I will end by saying that this book was loaded with information and the illustrations were the icing on the cake to say the least.

• Building Heirlooms: A Visit With Whit McLeod

  Sharon Letts had the opportunity to meet & speak with Arcata-based furnituremaker Whit McLeod recently, and The Eureka Reporter published her story on August 8, 2006:

  Whit McLeod came to Humboldt County as many have — to attend Humboldt State University.

  He
  graduated in 1976 with a degree in biology with an emphasis on wildlife
  management. Initially, he worked at Redwood Science Lab in Arcata, but
  soon found himself building wooden boats with the likes of boatwright
  David Peterson in a shop behind another wooden boat master, Ken Bates,
  on Gunther Island.

  “I started out making boxes for bottles of wine,” McLeod laughed. “Then I made the folding chair.”

  The
  folding chair is now as well known as the boxes the wine comes in, and
  is a common sight around town. Built from wine barrels, it’s a little
  folding chair for patio or beach use and it now makes up anywhere from
  40-50 percent of sales for McLeod.

  Since the chair, McLeod and
  his team of four — which includes his wife Kristy McLeod — have created
  beautiful craftsman-style furniture using the same wine barrels, as
  well as other types of reclaimed and salvaged wood. The furniture is
  made the old-fashioned way, using the mortise and tenon joint method.

  the full article is available online from The Eureka Reporter