Pairing Beauty with Beauty

Turning 50 can be a challenge but when tempered with a beautiful birthday present the experience can become a happy one.

Back in 2009 a close friend was facing this significant birthday so being  both a designer  of furniture and hardware, Martin Pierce decided to make a significant jewelry box.

As a furniture designer, Martin designed the Ascot series, a collection of  pieces using the Japanning technique to add gold and silver leaf to create Aspen trees  and vine leaves on his buffets and armoires. As its name suggests, Japanese artists and furniture makers developed Japanning to add richness and depth to their work using the reflective luminescence of gold. While the technique also became established in 18th century English furniture making, Martin only became aware of the technique while in  Los Angeles in 1996 making his furniture pieces.

For the 3-tiered jewelry box, Martin used solid cherry with silver and gold leaf. To add texture to the rim of the top Martin used a chip carving technique which he then gold leafed. Each side of the box has a silver leafed tree that is glazed with pigment to create highlights and shadows and to add a  more three-dimensional appearance. In the center of the top and on each lower tier a small butterfly from Martin’s cabinet pull collection is used as a pull.

Small Butterfly from the Insect Flying Creatures Collection of Pulls

Fine furniture making requires a knowledge of wood varieties and of ways of using these to advantage. In the Ascot collection plain sliced walnut and book matched English oak both with limited figuring were used as backdrop to silver Aspen trees and gold leafed autumnal vine leaves.

Open and closed wing moths from the collection of Flying Creature Cabinet Pulls

Carpathian elm burl and walnut burl are heavily figured veneers whose intense patterns require little adornment. In the piece below 1/32” layers of veneer were applied to a pre-shaped curved box made from medium density particle board (MDF). While not a fan of MDF it is a perfect substratum for veneers as it is stable and not prone to shrinking or expansion when there are changes in humidity. To achieve a tight bond the veneer was applied under pressure in a vacuum press with a  polyurethane-based adhesive glue.

Large Butterfly Cabinet Pull

Design inspiration from Mother Nature

Mother Nature has certainly given us all a lesson with this year's extraordinary weather throughout the world.  Unprecedented snowstorms and below freezing temperatures have hit the eastern portion of the United States while unseasonably warm weather has wreaked havoc with winter sports at the Olympics in Sochi, Russia.  But, along with unusual weather patterns, she also provides us with extraordinary inspiration for color combinations, sculpture and other forms of artwork and design.

We often talk about how nature inspires Martin's designs.  For example, our popular Hedgerow  furniture and architectural hardware collections were inspired by the trees and shrubs found in our native England.  Our Ascot series of custom furniture features beautiful patterns of leaves and vines using the ancient japanning technique of inlay.  We offer many custom hardware pieces inspired by insects and other living creatures and Martin is currently working on new paintings that include one of his favorite subjects, the beetle.

If you are searching for design inspiration for a project, it might be a simple as taking a walk in the park, a hike in your local mountains or just open your own back door to come up with the perfect jumping off point for your color, hardware and textile selections.

To view our entire collection of custom furniture and hardware, please visit our site at www.martinpierce.com.

Limited edition tallboy at home

Limited edition Ascot tallboy with japanning detail and custom interior shelves from Martin Pierce Custom Hardware

We recently wrote about how to choose between a custom or ready made piece of artwork or furniture.  We shared with you a bespoke version of our Ascot Tallboy designed for a client who wished to display and store their prized collection of 78 record albums and the vintage player.  Custom details included interior shelves and dividers cut to fit the record sleeves.

This limited edition piece is now in place and the client has graciously shared photos of it in use.

Martin Pierce Custom Hardware and furniture

The beautiful wood and japanning details really complement other pieces in the room and no one would guess that those doors hide plenty of convenient storage for easy access to the 78 LP's.  In my humble opinion, the perfect marriage between the old and the new.

If you would like to view other piece of custom furniture or our entire collection of custom architectural hardware,  please visit our site at www.martinpierce.com.

Custom vs. ready made or Why should I buy a custom piece of furniture?

Many people question the value of customizing a piece of furniture or hardware when a similar item may be available for immediate purchase.  Take a look at the latest incarnation of our limited edition Ascot Tallboy and you will clearly see the value of a custom piece. This piece was commissioned by architectural designer Jan McHugh of JBM Designs. Jan works in the Chicago and Indianapolis areas and can be reached via email at jbmdesigns@icloud.com.   This tallboy is intended for her clients who are the proud owners of an incredible art collection.  The interior of the tallboy was customized to hold their prized Victrola and store their valuable collection of "78's".  Coincidentally, this is #78 in a limited edition of 100 and it is going to be used to store 78's...clearly meant to be!

In order to properly support the Victrola and still enjoy the beautiful japanning details we adjusted the placement and allowed the pattern to wrap around the sides of the cabinet instead of across the top.  We also wanted to make the pull more of a focal point so chose to use the medium sized scarab pull from our Animal collection of custom architectural hardware.

martin pierce ascot tallboy number 78 of 100 side view

As usual, the tallboy is crafted from English brown oak and darkened chiseled walnut. You may remember that Martin likes English brown oak for the lovely golden amber hue and the "leopard spots", or dark brown markings that are part of the character of this particular wood.  These brown spots are a result of a fungus that the English brown oak tree suffers from or supports, depending on how you look at it.

The interior of the cabinet was also customized to house the sleeves of the unique record collection.

martin pierce ascot tallboy number 78 of 100 interior view customized for client record colleciton

As you can see, a ready to purchase cabinet would not have met the unique needs of this client but being able to request specific design and function details will make it possible for them to enjoy not only a beautiful piece of furniture but store and display their prized record collection.

To view other items from our custom furniture collection and our bespoke hardware collection, visit our site at www.martinpierce.com.

Limited Edition Aspen Buffet finds a new home

Thanks to ASID  interior designer Margo Montgomery Deane  (650-329-9087) of the San Francisco Bay area,#21 of our limited edition of 30 Aspen buffets has found a new home.

Ms. Deane has great appreciation for the craftsmanship and beauty of this piece and has admired it for many years.  She purchased it from Gaul Searson showrooms, long time supporters of Martin Pierce Hardware.   She was happy to be able to specify it for this special client and felt it "created a visual peace."  Her clients will be retiring and moving to the Lake Tahoe area where the Aspen buffet will happily reside.

A true work of art, the legs and frame of this buffet is crafted of solid walnut with the face and panels made from a vertical grain walnut veneer.  We purposefully lay up the walnut veneer to create a strong vertical direction allowing the piece to visually flow upward.  The natural tones of the wood are then gently lightened with a bleach solution to allow the delicate silver tones of the Aspen trees to stand out.  We apply the ancient japanning technique of inlay to create the aspen trees.  This process certainly makes these pieces edition worthy as it is a bit like buying a limited edition print except that in the case of furniture, each piece is a true original;  unlike a print where copies are created from a master.  We finish it off with our small chiseled pulls in a natural polished bronze.

If you would like to view our complete line of hardware and furniture and get the latest news on what is happening at Martin Pierce, please visit us at www.martinpierce.com.  And don't forget our new product naming contest.  You might be the lucky winner of two of our mushroom pulls.