We are craftsmen. We make furniture that speaks of thoughtful design, deliberate craftsmanship and the enduring nature of wood.

Making

We are craftsmen. Craftsmanship is our language; its vocabulary is care and thought and skill with our hands. It says a chair begins with a tree, a tree in a forest. It is up to us to envision this chair and make it come to life. Craftsmanship works hand in hand with design, so the chair has grace, is comfortable and is pleasing to the eye; and ultimately, the intent of the design is fully realized. Craftsmanship is looking for, and finding, ways to cut the wood, shape it and join it properly so it will endure. We continually ask, “What are the very best ways to do this?”

Shaping: Curved and shaped parts add grace and movement to a piece of furniture. The best way to shape parts cleanly and with accuracy begins with observing the wood grain. We saw and then shape mild curves from larger boards or, when the parts curve more dramatically, we steam straight grained blanks until they become pliable and quickly bend them around a form. For example, we often steam bend chair parts such as rear legs and back supports. Once cool, the parts maintain the bend. Besides being a more efficient use of wood, the grain follows the bend which creates a very strong part.

Joinery: The best way to join wood depends on the piece. We typically use classic mortise and tenon and dovetail joints. These joints rely on glue to secure them and for this, joints must be cut to very close tolerances - .001 to .002”. We often cross peg mortise and tenon joints that are subjected to the greatest stresses like joints that connect chair legs and rails.

There’s more about the mortise and tenon joint. Especially in chair construction, we arrange parts so no two rails intersect a leg at the same level. Staggered construction allows full depth mortise and tenons. This provides greater gluing surface and preserves the strength of each leg.

Classic joinery relies upon a certain mass of wood as well as closeness of fit. Classic furniture forms were developed with an understanding of this. There are some designs for which mass is contrary to the esthetic intention. In these instances we can augment traditional joinery with metal reinforcement or replace it completely with hardware that we design into the piece. Hardware can facilitate great strength in very clean intersections of light parts.

Hardware: The best hardware solutions are the ones we devise ourselves. We design hardware for various applications. We make shaped steel plates to connect table tops to their bases in a way that allows the top to shrink and expand against parts that don’t. Other hardware we make includes drawer and door pulls and barn door hardware for sliding cabinet doors. We also make hardware that connects and creates structure as joinery does. Our hardware is fashioned from metal of differing thicknesses accurately profiled on a numerically controlled water jet from our drawing files. We tumble the metal parts in ceramic media that burnishes surfaces and softens edges and, when made of steel, they are soaked in molten beeswax to prevent rusting and tarnishing. The look and feel of the hardware we make compliments our furniture beautifully.

Sanding and Finishing: The best wood surfaces are created by deliberate and focused sanding followed by finish that is applied with the same care. The best finish depends on performance requirements. For residential furniture, we favor a plant oil finish. Botanical Tung Oil, made by Sutherland Welles, is an outstanding traditional finish that we hand apply. The richness and the depth of the wood grain emerges as the finish is polished. As the finish ages it deepens in tone and patina and, when needed, more finish can be polished on to refresh the surface. Beeken Parsons’ contract work is typically finished with several coats of GreenGuard certified Formaldehyde-free conversion varnish.

Collaboration: We have found the best way to answer questions that inevitably arise during the development of a new design is to seek advise from others. Most of our projects involve craftspeople who work in a variety of disciplines. We frequently work with foresters, sawyers, metal workers, upholsterers and others. We value the skill and perspective that collaborating makers can bring to our process and our furniture. With collaborating craftspeople, we share an understanding of materials and the language of craftsmanship.

Wood

We use local wood, starting with logs that are harvested from nearby forests. One reason for doing this is because it expands the palette of woods that we can offer our clients. Species like hop hornbeam or shagbark hickory or burr oak are not every day options for today’s furniture makers.

When we select a type of wood for a project, color and grain characteristics are immediate considerations but there are less apparent qualities as well. For example hop hornbeam steam bends well and is strong and dense. Ash bends well too with its long flexible fibers; maple and cherry with their closed grain make excellent table surfaces. There are other advantages to beginning with logs. We often get a log or two for a specific project having settled on a species. In those instances we saw planks to specific thicknesses and grain orientations dictated by what we plan to make.

We organize the cuts in a way that makes use of the whole log, right down to the pith. Close to the heart of the log, in close to the pith, is where we find wood with the most character. This wood can have small tight knots and interesting, frequently irregular, coloration.

When we make furniture we start at the beginning. Respect for our material extends to the tree and the forest the tree grows in. We ask, “How can we make the best and most complete use of what has been harvested?”