Padouk, jatoba, cocobolo, birch, maple, cherry.

I make furniture out of wood. Sometimes luxurious, exotic, tropical hardwood, sometimes beautiful domestic varieties. I get wood from reputable dealers who sell from renewable sources. Most of my wood comes from Wood World in Dallas, Texas.

I love wood. I love the texture and the way it feels in my hands. I love the grain and surprises that await the sawing, planing and sanding. I never stain or dye wood. Wood comes in many, many colors. If I want to make an orange chair, I find orange wood (some varieties of cocobolo are orange). If I want to make a blue chair, I make a brown one instead. I choose the type of wood that has the right characteristics of color, strength and texture for the individual piece of furniture.

I don't use nails or screws on my chairs. I use joinery to hold wood together. Sometimes I let the joinery show, other times the design of the chair hides the joints. My chairs are sturdy and strong and lightweight. They are comfortable to sit in and feel good to the touch.

I finish furniture with the appropriate materials for the wood. I prefer to use a mixture of tung oil, linseed oil and urethane as a finish. This combination brings out the depth and brilliance of the wood and leaves a tough, lasting finish. Some oily exotic woods reject an oil finish, so I sand those to a very high surface and finish with wax.