In my recent work I’ve been elevating furniture with marquetry and parquetry, using various contrasting wood veneers to create visual elements like flowers, branches, birds, and geometric patterns.

Marquetry and parquetry involve covering a stable structural base with veneer to create decorative patterns, designs, or images. Common materials include wood, ivory, bone, mother-of-pearl, and brass.

My marquetry furniture combines the geometric structure of man-made objects with the asymmetry of nature, particularly in flower and leaf patterns.

The marquetry veneer patterns in my work are typically cut using the 18th-century Italian packet method, which involves cutting all design elements and the background simultaneously using a scroll saw. The veneer pieces are then shaded with hot sand for depth and shadow effects before being attached to the furniture base with a mix of traditional hide glue and modern adhesives.

Adding marquetry or parquetry images to custom furniture can increase production time, but it results in a unique piece. Each marquetry design is hand-drawn, leaf by leaf and flower by flower, to create a natural and artistically coherent image. The process starts with photos of the shapes and patterns, evolving into hand drawings with multiple revisions before becoming the cutting template for marquetry veneer packets.