Welcome to the web log of Eric Johnson of Eric Johnson’s Furniture, makers of antique reproduction furniture.
Our furniture is made using high quality tiger maple and flame cherry wood. We also employ time honored joinery techniques such as pegged mortise and tenon as well as hand-cut dovetails. It is our goal in building furniture to craft each piece both beautiful and useful, as well as a cherished and valued item for many generations.
Well that was a brief overview of Eric Johnson’s Furniture. Now I will give a bit more detail about the company as well as myself, Eric Johnson. I will be turning 36 years old on Nov. 5. I am married to Debbie and we have 4 children 3 girls and a boy. Needless to say I am a bit apprehensive about the teenage years. We live in a small town in the middle of New Hampshire named Campton. We moved here in the spring of 1999 from an even smaller town in Alaska called Talkeetna. I grew up in Talkeetna and after getting married I spent 7 years as a fishing guide there. People said it was the perfect job. I got to drive a jet boat and help people fish all day. I also had all winter off. Let me tell you winter is a long time in Alaska. When I was about 27 I got into woodworking out of necessity, ( I needed to build a kitchen for my house I was building). I realized that I enjoyed woodworking so I decided to go into the woodworking business during the winter, even though I basically knew nothing about woodworking. People hired me and I didn't’t pass on any projects, I viewed them as a learning experience. After two years I decided to go full time. The problem was, there really was no market for custom furniture in a small town in Alaska, so we moved to New Hampshire and the rest is history. I have been a full- time furniture maker for the last 7 years.
Again, my goal in building furniture is to build a beautiful piece that is both a joy to look at as well as serving the purpose it was intended for. This is why I chose to base my style on the pieces built 250 and 300 years ago. Personally, I have never seen a more pleasing style then the Queen Anne period. The gracefulness of lines and delicate proportions cannot be improved on. I do enjoy many Chippendale pieces, but mostly they seem too heavy and ornate for my taste. I also like many pieces of the William and Mary style, but again they tend to be a bit heavy and less refined as the Queen Anne.
Back in the early days of our country, the high style furniture in whatever period were made in the cities such as New York, Boston and Philadelphia, where the money was. In the outside surrounding areas, craftsman built simpler furniture based on what they saw on their city trips. Many of these pieces were quite crude, however there are many pieces surviving today that show high quality craftsmanship and detail. These are the pieces on which I mostly base my reproductions. I try to let the details of the design and the uniqueness of the wood make a statement as opposed to fancy veneers and a bunch of carvings.
I hope you have enjoyed this little article. I intend to use this web log to keep customers up to date on the progress of their furniture. I also plan to write short articles on what is going on in the shop, such as problems encountered and solutions figured out. I will also be posting pictures of pieces in progress and also finished pieces. It is my sincere hope that people who are interested in fine custom furniture will enjoy this web log.
Please drop me a note and let me know what you would like to see discussed here. [email protected]I want this to be a fun and enjoyable learning experience for everybody including myself.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely
Eric
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