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An exceptional jewelry designer in Cambridge, Massachusetts approached me about designing cases for his new retail facility on Massachusetts Avenue. He was intrigued by my Art Nouveau designs, but as a working artist had a limited budget. The challenge was to design a number of cases for a long and quite narrow space, with a matching stair leading to the consulting area and workshops below.
The cherry wood, glass-topped cases that emerged from the design process featured inlaid marquetry panels, with a sinuous, Art Nouveau-inspired 'whiplash' design. The adjacent stair rail was originally designed for forged iron, but for the sake of economy the design was sandblasted into a tempered glass panel with wood and metal framing.
We appreciate the opportunity to place our work in public or retail settings, and as a custom shop, we specialize in accommodating our client's needs for commercial as well as residential environments.
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When we moved back from Hawaii, I spent several years in an old shop in Beverly, Massachusetts, before returning to my former base in neighboring New Hampshire. This time, I located an 18,000 SF space in a masonry building with central heat and sprinkling system. Although it had wiring, we needed to substantially upgrade and replace electric panels and drop lines for my 3-phase industrial grade machines.
We needed something else, too. Although the venue of the new shop was magnificent, overlooking the 5000 acre Pawtuckaway State Park, we were very isolated. I did not need or want a retail location, but I definitely needed lunch. There was only a quick-stop grocery and gas station.
We jumped at the opportunity to work on this new restaurant in a restored Odd Fellows Hall in the middle of town. Since it was about a mile from the shop, we could easily work on it before, during and after hours. Although the space was small, the owners were flexible, committed and intriguing, and we agreed on several fumed oak cases with a frame and panel mini-bar and valance on one end. The serpentine arrangement was determined after the chef helped to lay out his work-space needs and effective passageways for food service. The upper valances hold recessed lighting as well as glassware, and feature chalkboard ‘panels’ in the retail area for the daily menus and specials.
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Portsmouth architects John Rummler and Steven McHenry commissioned me to build this bar for the new Acadia Restaurant. This establishment was housed in a converted colonial residence, which was carefully retrofitted for this venture.
The bar featured solid mahogany framing with bird’s eye maple paneling, and avonite bartop with a ‘Chicago roll’ in mahogany. The overhanging valance matched the lower cases, and held recessed lighting and cabinets for glassware. The steel pillars supporting this valance were boxed in mahogany. Bar stools were by others.
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I opened a shop in downtown Honolulu in 1988 and ran it until 1996. During that time, there was a very strong economic base in Japan, and Japanese individuals and businesses were seeking to invest in Hawaii. This was due in part to the deep kinship relationships that had evolved since Asians first came to work in Hawaii during the plantation era of the 19th century. Hawaii is also a favored vacation spot for the Japanese.
As designers and others in the trades came to realize the quality of craftsmanship in our shop, we began to bid on jobs for some of the top businesses, hotels and residences in the islands. We kept the most interesting work, and directed some to other woodworking shops in Kaaka’ako. This job was one we did in the early 1990s.
The plans called for a large video-conferencing screen to be a central element of the space, as the isolated nature of the island community mandates communication through advanced technology. Koa-framed casework frames the screen in an octagonal arrangement, with veneering of ash burl on the façade of the upper and lower drawers and doors. All edge detailing and handles are made of solid koa wood.
The pedestal-base executive desk repeats the octagonal form of the room, using curly koa ash burl veneer, as in the wall cases.
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I had built the Balinese Screen Cabinet for a Honolulu decorator, and in the early 1990s she introduced me to another of her clients. I built two reproduction chairs for his home, and he often came to the shop for lessons, as he was carving the figure of Bacchus on the door to his wine cellar.
He then asked me to build the executive boardroom for his company, Eagle Distributors in Honolulu, Hawaii. This company managed the flow of Anheuser-Busch beer into the islands, and as its chairman, he had accumulated a collection of 900 rare beer steins that he wanted to display. Due to the extent and significance of his collection, we were tasked to build over 100 running feet of elegant display cases, all in curly koa, the signature wood of the Hawaiian Islands.
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When we ran our shop in downtown Honolulu, we came to know and work for several Japanese contractors, and were able to bid successfully on a number of commercial jobs in Hawaii.
One of them was this koa display case for the Outrigger Hotel in Waikiki. Although a simple case, it holds the private collection of bowls made by the Hawaiian craftsman Don DeLuz. These hotels are entrusted to the hotel, which provides security while bringing awareness of Native Hawaiian culture to the constant flow of tourists.
I had wanted this case to have a single pane of glass so as not to detract from the art work. We decided on a unique method of loading the cases through the side panels of the upper case, which were of solid wood and securely locked on both ends.
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