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Furniture makers are crafting tomorrow’s antiques, and keeping alive old world traditions

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Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution

Necessity is the mother of new career direction Date: August 5, 1992 Publication:

The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution Page Number: B/2 Word Count: 375 Business writer Shelia Poole discusses how an antique furniture business hit by the recession and a slow retail market was the impetus for a new career direction for Geoffrey Severin. After two years of selling antique furniture from a stall at the Atlanta Antique Center in Chamblee, Mr. Severin figured that consumers would spend money to buy good-quality furniture that came with a lower price tag. To that end, he opened Portobello Road, a custom furniture-making business, in Atlanta GA.

Furniture makers are crafting tomorrow’s antiques, and keeping alive old world traditions

By MICHAEL IACUESSA
SENTINEL CORRESPONDENT

Furniture maker Geoffrey Severin often works late into the night on a piece of furniture, just trying to get a corner right.

It is the personal touch, he says, that draws customers to local crafters such as himself.

Severin is one of many in the Santa Cruz area making a living building custom-designed furniture. In an age of automation and quick turnaround, it is not the most popular trade, but for those who need a specific piece of furniture to fit their home, such crafters are precious. Their work falls between not quite art but a few steps more creative than simple carpentry.

It also takes a solid reputation before one can be successful financially.

Severin, has lived in Santa Cruz for just over ten years, selling most of his work the hard way — in antique shops in the area. He fell into the profession while running an antique furniture stall in a market in Atlanta 10 years ago. When sales slowed because of the recession he determined people would still be interested in buying well-constructed furniture, made in a traditional style, at a slightly lower cost than antiques.

As he finishes a large bookcase, he explains for his customers it is much like buying a suit. They need something tailor-made to fit.

"Most shops are fully automated," he says. "They do it for the buck, but the stuff that comes out is so uniform."

He points out the bookcase is made from all the same wood, allowing for a consistent grain structure, and that it took more than six weeks to finish.

Severin tries to build different pieces as often as he can to say creative but has a few items he falls back on — particularly Queen Anne tables.

"It’s like a hit record," he says. "If it sells, it keeps going."

Selling in antique shops, however, means competing with traditionally made imports from the Far East and Mexico. Most successful furniture makers rely on custom orders, something Severin is just tapped

into after building connections in Santa Cruz.

"My work is not the same as you would find in a big department store," he said. "It’s handmade, one-of-a-kind to individual specifications as to the kind of wood you want and the kind of shape."

The average project takes two to three weeks from the drawing stage to completion. For that reason, he has a six- to eight-month waiting list.

"You can only take a certain number of projects a year but people seem to like that," he says.

Severin says making and selling custom furniture isn’t an easy line of work but that it is an art of love and with considerable personal satisfaction involved.

"Craftsman make the furniture for the village, and the village needs to know we’re still around," he says.

TALK ABOUT FOOD

The Deconstructing Dinner Manifesto
Why does my tomato look so perfect, and how much fuel was required for it to travel here from Mexico? What about the truck my tomato hitched a ride on? How much energy was required to build that truck, and wait a minute, how much energy was required to make that fuel? I know a guy down the street who grows tomatoes. Why doesn't the grocery store around the corner sell his tomatoes? What about the road my tomato travelled on. How many workers are required per year to maintain that road? And how much fuel do they use to get to the highway that they're paid to maintain? Didn't I buy this tomato like a month ago? Why does it still look so perfect? And why did that girl at the checkout counter assume I needed a plastic bag for my tomato? She even gave me a puzzled look when I told her I didn't need one! Did I mention the guy down the street grows tomatoes?http://www.baianicchia.blogspot.com/, for the village, and the village needs to know we’re still around
save money save your life AND EAT GOOD FOOD..

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Tuesday, August 19, 2008

FARM TABLES

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