Mike Roberts

About/Bio

Realizing my passion for art and craft, I founded the business in 2006.  I switched from a full-time career in Information Technology to full-time woodworking. My woodworking began nearly 30 years ago as a boy helping my parents remodel an old colonial home. Over the past 20 years, I've built countless projects, refining my design and craftsmanship skills every step of the way.

Craftsmanship

With custom built furniture, the quality and craftsmanship are second to none. While you may find staples, hot-melt glue, particle board, and other engineered materials in furniture from even the best quality furniture stores, you will not find them in any heirloom quality piece that I make. I use only the best quality materials and centuries-proven joinery techniques to make sure that the furniture produced stands up to a lifetime of use.

The Shop

Fine woodworking requires a mixture of power and hand tools.  My shop, small by some standards at 500 square feet, has the best of each.  Large European woodworking machines help me make quick work of turning rough lumber into furniture components.  My hand tools pick up where the power tools leave off, removing milling marks and cutting joinery.  Working with well-tuned tools allows me to work to a high degree of precision.

A place for everything, everything in its place. -Benjamin Franklin

My Mission

My mission is to craft furniture that makes use of the natural beauty of wood and create pieces where form follows function, where simplicity is grace, using time-honored woodworking techniques to ensure that the furniture is made to last.

Specialty

My specialty is creating heirloom-quality furniture and quality cabinetry that creates the same sense of pride for the owner as I take in making it. The pride and satisfaction comes from the attention to every detail in my workmanship and the human connection between me (designer and builder) and you the customer. Every piece I build is custom designed to meet your requirements and exceed your expectations. Each piece is hand signed and guaranteed. 

Satisfaction

The personal satisfaction you get from owning a piece of custom built furniture is difficult to describe. Pieces that we have delivered to customers have given them great pride and excitement.

On Design

It must be useful,
It must work dependably,
It must be beautiful,
It must last,
It must be the best of its kind.
-Alfred Dunhill

Custom furniture begins with an idea. That idea may come from a piece you already own, from a picture in a book or magazine, a picture on this website, or from a piece of furniture at a friend's house or furniture store.

I am both artist and craftsman. My job as an artist is to design a piece that meets your functional and aesthetic requirements. I work with you and help you develop your idea into a design, often going through a few drafts before reaching the final product. Each piece is as unique as its owner, and each design process is also unique.

My designs have evolved from emulating others I admire to finding my own modern style. I prefer to design first and build, or figure out how to build, second. This approach keeps designs fresh and challenges the craftsman within me. My own aesthetic is similar to that of the Shakers – an aesthetic where simplicity is grace, where form follows function, where nothing needs to be added and nothing can be taken away.

Meeting the functional requirements is one thing. Creating a piece that harmonizes with your space is another. My job is to do both. A piece can be made to match or complement pieces in your existing collection. It can be made to precisely fit a space. My furniture is scaled to the surroundings and has pleasing proportions.

on Craftsmanship

Quality means doing it right when no one is looking- Henry Ford

Every piece is built to order by me, one at a time, taking as much time as necessary to ensure perfection. Creating your heirloom is my labor of love. I use the best materials, hardware, and finishes available. Centuries proven joinery techniques such as mortise and tenon, pegged mortise and tenon, frame and panels, and dovetails are utilized to ensure a lifetime of trouble-free use.

The machines in my shop act as the apprentices, turning rough sawn wood into dimensioned pieces. I then do the joinery work by hand – including hand cutting dovetails. Cutting dovetails by hand with a saw, chisel, and mallet creates a strong joint that is better to look at.

Wood

I have the utmost respect for the material. I use primarily American hardwoods such as cherry, maple, oak, walnut, and ash. I also have access to many exotic and figured woods locally and would love to incorporate them into an heirloom for you. All the woods I use are sustainably harvested. I use only the highest grade of hardwood. Knots and sapwood are cut out. I look for wide boards with similar color and matched grain rather than gluing up several smaller boards.

I take great care in selecting the wood for the piece to ensure that juxtaposed pieces match harmoniously. The grain flows continuously from one drawer front to the next. Panels are book matched out of the same board. Boards with the straightest grain are selected for rails and styles. Good really is in the details. Extra time spent selecting and laying out the materials is very apparent in the final product.

It should go without saying that heirloom pieces are solid wood. I often use furniture-grade plywood in cabinetry and other built-ins, but you won’t find it in my heirloom furniture.

Finish

I spend a considerable amount of time on surface preparation. I make sure that the piece is smooth to touch with the edges eased. I ensure that all evidence of milling marks is removed. I help you select a finish that is appropriate for the piece and your desired level of maintenance. I can stain your piece to match existing piece if you wish. My preference is to use a finish that showcases the beauty of the wood. Finishes range from hand-rubbed oil to sprayed lacquers, polyurethane, and varnish.

Doors and Drawers

My drawers and doors are easy to open and close and have consistent reveals around their edges. I take seasonal wood movement into account when sizing the doors and drawers to their openings. You will notice a slightly larger gap in the winter and a smaller reveal in the summer when the wood swells.

Backs

The back of my furniture is as beautiful as the front. I often use frame and panel panels for the back of case pieces. The frame and panel gives the case required rigidity and does so beautifully.