cherry wood sideboard
Construction of a solid cherry wood sideboard. Oak plywood back panel and solid oak drawer and shelf. Oiled finish.
Creation
Cherrywood bookcases
Construction of a solid cherry wood bookcase with an oak plywood back panel and aluminum adjustable shelves. Oiled finish.
TV stand
Construction of a TV and hi-fi unit with a record bin. It is veneered with tineo and rosewood on oak plywood and solid oak. Its legs are made of black steel.
compass rose
I'm creating a compass rose from 8mm solid wood, veneered onto 8mm plywood. The rose itself is made of maple, dark walnut, and sipo, while the background is cherry. The frieze and cardinal points are made of sapele, light walnut, and maple. It will be set into a solid walnut parquet floor. Unfortunately, I'm not doing the installation myself… I hope to see the final result and show it to you soon.
Secret box
The brief: to create a multi-moving secret box, inspired by Japanese boxes, but with French-style marquetry. Three movements reveal the secret drawer. A spring-loaded button, hidden beneath the veneer, then ejects it. For the shape and marquetry, I drew inspiration from the traveling secretary attributed to Jean-François Oeben. The geometric forms and colors closely resemble what this cabinetmaker might have used. The box's structure is made of solid beech, with ash wood joints. […]
Louis XIV style secretary
A brief look back at the making of a Louis XIV style secretary desk in solid oak. The drop-front and drawers are inlaid with cherry and walnut. Finished with a golden oak stain, then varnished.
Boulle box
To kick off the new year, I'm excited to present my new project. I'm embarking on a replica of this box attributed to André Charles Boulle. You'll be able to follow the progress, and even come see it in person: it will be my main subject for marquetry work at shows and events in the coming years. Yes, I'm talking about several years, because it's an extremely lengthy process. Choosing the Woods: First, I had to find and select the woods for the marquetry. The background […]
It's being talked about in the press!
Here is an article that appeared in Le Perche on Wednesday, May 15, 2019.
Tool cabinet – End
And there you have it, it's finished and ready to use. All the tools are in their proper place. All that's left is to find bronze fittings for the handles and keyhole escutcheons. For the finishing technique, I used the same one applied to furniture of that period: polishing. I first scraped the surface, then sanded it with 150-grit sandpaper. Next, I applied Venetian tripoli mixed with olive oil using a piece […]
Tool cabinet – The top doors
For these marquetry designs, I consulted Pierre Ramond's book, "André-Charles Boulle, Cabinetmaker, Chaser, and Marquetry Maker to the King." I used the marquetry drawings from the Boulle workshop's cabinet (circa 1715-1720). However, I removed the birds and the butterfly to simplify the design. Furthermore, I partially used the "Boulle" method for the acanthus leaves and the vase. Finally, for the flower bouquets, I chose the technique of painting on wood.
Tool cabinet – Continued
Here are some photos of the marquetry on the tool cabinet. For the corner pieces, I was inspired by those on a table by Pierre Gole, a predecessor and major influence of André-Charles Boulle. For this cabinet, I needed to make 16 corner pieces. So, to save time, I decided to use the Boulle marquetry technique. I made four bundles of different colored woods to obtain four different marquetry designs from a single cut. Therefore, there are four identical designs, but with different flower colors. Then, […]
Tool cabinet – The birds
Here are some pictures of the creation of the birds for the marquetry on the lower doors. I cut them out using a marquetry easel, then inserted them into a background of blackened pear wood. The branches are made of walnut.
Tool cabinet – The sculptor
With this tool cabinet, I wanted to explore and put into practice several avenues I was researching. One of them was to tackle the marquetry technique of a famous 18th-century cabinetmaker, David Roentgen. This "mosaic marquetry" involves cutting a single sheet of veneer using a conical saw. Each piece is then colored by dipping it in a chosen dye. However, there were two difficulties: the conical sawing, which is tricky on 0.6 mm veneer, and the dyeing of the wood. When I make […]
Tool cabinet – Marquetry drawers
I crafted the frame from solid walnut, the panels from poplar, and the doors from plywood. Then, research guided me in choosing the various marquetry motifs. Indeed, Pierre Ramond's books on marquetry, veritable bibles on the subject, greatly inspired me. Furthermore, for the decoration of the interior drawers, I drew inspiration from the "Loves" on Jean-Henri Riesener's "Table of the Muses.".
Tool cabinet
Since the workshop is under renovation, today I'll begin describing the various stages involved in making this tool cabinet. The idea came to me while looking for a way to store all my tools in a single piece of furniture. For the style, I had recently restored a Masarine commode in the style of the HACHE family in Grenoble. When I embark on a personal furniture project, I like to explore new techniques. And I had never before tackled the Louis XIV/Regency style.
