I have been doing woodworking in
Mendocino County since I moved to Anderson Valley
in 1974, and for ten years before that in San
Francisco and Marin County. My shop is a mile
off Highway 128 and 17 miles inland from Highway 1
in a building that I designed and built
specifically to house it.
I collaborate with architects
and interior designers as well as individual
clients on custom work, and I also produce
furniture of my own design and put it on
consignment in galleries. People who visit
those galleries often ask me to reproduce those
pieces with variations in size and wood, and I am
happy to do so.
I am mostly self-taught through
trial and error as well as reading and interaction
with other woodworkers, especially the folks who
were active in the Mendocino Woodworkers
Association back in the 1970's. I have made a
lot of kitchen cabinets and a lot of pre-hung doors
for houses, but my great love is making household
and office furniture.
My designs are inspired by the
simple lines of Shaker furniture, the Arts and
Crafts period, and the sensuous curves of Art
Nouveau pieces. I work almost exclusively in
American hardwoods and like to use two contrasting
woods in each piece, one for the frame members and
another for panels, drawer fronts and tops. I
like to find special highly-figured wood for the
panels and tops and often make it into thick veneer
on my bandsaw.
All furniture frames are joined
with mortise and tenon and through dovetail
joints. I do make use of dowels
occasionally. Panels are free floating within
the frames and tops are designed and attached
taking the possibility of wood movement into
account. All drawers are dovetailed and are
guided bottom, top and sides on hardwood
runners. All furniture is finished with four
coats of polyurethane varnish and sanded or hand
rubbed between coats.
You can see more of my work as
well as my resume and an artists statement on
my web site at:
http://www.mcfaddenfurniture.com
You are welcome to email me
to arrange a time to stop by the shop if you are
interested in discussing a commission and are going
to be in Mendocino.
|
