Peter Turner

Early on, I came up with this summation of what I do: I work to commission, designing and building contemporary, hardwood furniture. Tradition enters through the forms, joinery and care that shape my process. I build pieces that I love with the aim that they in turn, find others who share this feeling. My goal is that every piece precisely meets the needs and desires of each client in a form that uplifts. This piece meets every aspect of my description.

Probably about a quarter of the CD’s in my shop are circa 1972, my last year of high school. Like my musical preferences, the forms and proportions that I favor often float in from my past. This piece grew out of sketches made while designing an earlier box on bench. The green, poplar box for this earlier piece had served as a photo prop used to illustrate a mitering technique in my recent book on blanket chests. The book had sprouted from a blanketchest I had made for an article in Fine Woodworking magazine. One thing has clearly led to another.

My designs evolve as I incorporate new techniques and materials in my version of continuing education. Often, clients’ specific requests can trigger new evolutionary bursts. The solid line running throughout is that function finds its expression through the filters of simplicity and grace.

Starting out, I was immediately drawn to Shaker furniture. The clean, spare forms were devoted to purpose. What could be better? My early pieces came from books of scaled drawing of Shaker work. The feeling that I get when I look at my favorite Shaker pieces stays inside me, still, and will always help to define my work.

www.petersturner.com