Pasadena in Vermont

It is always interesting to bring together creative individuals and ask them to make things happen as a group. We are all generally working away in our shops handling the twenty-seven different hats that are needed to run a successful small business. Getting us together has never been easy but somehow over the years we have managed to keep doing just that. I do not envy the curator of a show who has to contact 29 furniture makers to schedule delivery. I have a hard enough time doing it with one! Having said that, I have always enjoyed the quarterly meetings of the guild held in different shops. It is always great to get out of my cocoon and see how someone else does their thing. I have picked up several safety tips and some great ideas from seeing how other professionals set up their shops. And yes there is occasional machinery envy. (Nice compressor, Bob!) Mostly we encourage each other professionally and it has turned into a source of information and help for all members who choose to join in.

As a guild members who is new to the blogosphere I am looking forward to watching this page develop. In quarterly meetings and shows we don’t necessarily get a view of the process that we each go through. It should be fun to see what is going on in these small corners of Vermont.

So what have I been up to lately? For years I have been greatly inspired by the works of Greene & Greene, two architects in Pasadena at the turn of the century. ( The Gamble house is one of their masterpieces that you can visit. ) Their work had an Arts & Crafts feel with an Asian flare and a real keen eye on details and craftsmanship. I have been enjoying creating my own works in a similar vein. I like to use their sensibility but bring my own vision to the piece while continuing to keep an eye on the details and craftsmanship. I have recently been experimenting with silver inlay and stones and will see where that goes.



This sideboard was fashioned after the Blacker house sideboard which is currently on tour in a special exhibit called "A New And Native Beauty; The Art and Craft of Greene & Greene". The exhibit just left the Huntington library and will be traveling to Washington, DC and Boston. This piece was the first time I used silver inlay. The door panels are carved by Matthew Strong, a very talented friend of mine in Stowe, VT. I gave him the door blanks and the basic design and he took it from there, right down to the trees carved into the panels and flowing into the stile and rails.


My current project is a desk I am making for a great client of mine. It is made out of Vermont cherry and embellished with ebony accents and inlay. I have finished the case and the top and I am about to make the drawers. You will be able to see that the drawer fronts have been routed to accept the ebony inlay. I then carve the drawer pulls out of cherry and ebonize them (basically impregnating them with a black aniline dye.) This desk is part of an office that will include a bookcase wall unit with file cabinets and shelves for stereo equipment. I will post more pics as I proceed.


You can see the rest of my custom furniture at WilliamLaberge.com