Vermont’s Woodworkers

Vermont’s Woodworkers Are Creating the Antiques of Tomorrow

by Greg Worden

“A quarter of a million dollars! That’s unbelievable! The table has been in the family for generations, but I never would have guessed that it would be worth so much!”

Just another day in the saga of Antiques Roadshow, you say. But, in our current world throw-away consumerism, will there be any furniture that will endure and become an antique of tomorrow?

The 30 skilled members of the Guild of Vermont Furniture Makers are working to make sure that happens. And, although you won’t often find their work outside their studios except in their customers’ homes and offices, you have a chance to see some of their finest work at Vermont Artisan Designs in downtown Brattleboro through September 22.

According to Guild president Johns Congdon of Charlotte, the Guild was started in the 1990s.

“A group of us had heard of other guilds around the country and thought it would be a good idea for Vermont,” he said.

“While not all professional furniture makers in Vermont belong to the Guild, we probably have the majority of them,” Congdon said, noting that Guild members may be found in all corners of the state.

The idea of a guild is to promote the art form along with the furniture makers themselves. Since most of the makers work exclusively from their studios and do custom work, the Guild takes the role of a support group for these professional woodworkers.

“The Guild gets us out and provides a sense of community. We get to share ideas and skills and marketing ideas,” according to member David Hurwitz. “The people are really open. It’s not a competitive thing. That’s unusual for a group like this,” he said.

Hurwitz has been a member of the Guild for four years. Like many of the members, he studied to become a craftsman.

“I went to the School for American Craftsmen at RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology) and got a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in crafting wooden furniture. Our first year we had to build furniture using only hand tools.”

That hooked Hurwitz on making furniture. After school he worked with architects and in millworking shops for awhile. He opened his first studio in 1993.

Hurwitz enjoys making “big intensive pieces of furniture. I like to carve, exploring form, shaping and texture.”

At the Vermont Artisan Designs show, he is displaying his carving ability with a walnut mirror and a Japanese style console table.

Both Hurwitz and Congdon said that customers are becoming more aware of the environmental-friendly move toward the use of sustainable woods in making furniture.

“That resonates with me,” Hurwitz said. “I consider myself an environmentalist, but sometimes I still get requests for woods that aren’t sustainable.”

Congdon, who became president of the not-for-profit Guild wants not only to promote highly crafted furniture, but also to expand the paradigm to a more mainstream environment. I want the Guild to be more visible in Vermont and the northeast not only as a source of fine furniture for individuals but also to be able to make quality goods for the overall community.”

Photos:
1. Dan Mosheim Guild member from Dorset

2. Bob Gasperetti Guild member from Mount Tabor

3. Detail of Table by David Hurwitz, Guild member