”I don`t want to make things that are out of style next year,” said Jeffrey Miller, who designs and creates furniture at J. Miller Handcrafted Furniture.
”We start from a Shaker aesthetic and make classic-style pieces.”
Miller`s designs feature old-fashioned woodworking techniques updated for the machine age. For example, he makes traditional mortise and tenon joints but uses a modern mortise cutter rather than a hammer and chisel.
He learned an appreciation for wood when he took a class in instrument-making.
”It wasn`t a serious pursuit, but it got my skills together,” said Miller, who formerly was a classical musician. ”I graduated to making furniture for friends, and then it got completely out of hand.”
The woods Miller uses also bring the old and the new together. Favoring cherry, ash, walnut and mahogany, he juxtaposes different colors and grains to add accents to the pieces.
”Solid wood has a set of rules all its own, and I like playing with those rules,” he said.
Prices range from $295 for a small rocking dinosaur to $20,000 for an exquisite wall unit, which features a hidden door, ”just like in an old horror movie.”
”In woodworking, as in music, you have to pay attention to the most minute details in the service of the overall effect,” he said. ”But the difference now is that I`m also the composer.”
J. Miller Handcrafted Furniture is at 1774 W. Lunt Ave. Call 312-761-3311.
