This article summarizes the work of several New Jersey furniture artists. It describes unique pieces created through techniques like straw marquetry and woodcarving. Artists strive to make functional yet visually pleasing pieces that convey their vision. Custom commissions are highlighted, such as a Jacobean-style suite for the New Jersey Statehouse. Contact information is provided for the artists.

1. A SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT
TO NJ SAVVY LIVING
> Savvy Home
VISION CREATES THE ARTIST
Photo: Rich Russo Photography Inc.
Ash and bubinga table by Glen Guarino.
ARTISTS CREATE THE FURNITURE
BY ALAN RICHMAN
ost fine art is made for viewing only, not touching. Peter Tischler of Washington’s vision includes making
M Furniture art is different, demanding that people feel
it, sit in it, chop vegetables on it, switch it on to give
them light, and more. Some lucky few even sleep in beds that
“contemporary furniture that not only becomes a part of our
clients’ homes, but a part of their lives.”
RETRO GOLD
might otherwise be in museums.
Together with collaborator Vicki Diamond, Tischler has been
The distinction between furniture and furniture art lies in
working recently to resurrect “the lost art of straw marquetry.”
the creator’s vision.
This technique, popular in Paris in the 1920s and 1930s, calls
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2. for French rye straw to be hand-dyed, split, flattened and ironed. Butler takes particular pride in a trestle table made of African
The iridescent ribbons of straw are then trimmed and glued into mahogany and measuring 94 inches long by 41 inches wide and 29
geometric patterns on wood. inches high. “I used two antique wooden woodworking clamps as
Among the pieces built by Tischler and Diamond are a fan cab- the trestles. The table is literally clamped together, and, like tradi-
inet and a sunburst sideboard. The cabinet’s repeating fan tional trestle tables from past eras, it can come apart easily. But,
pattern uses straw that has a lot of silica in its outer husk. “It when assembled, it is rock solid and sturdy.”
refracts light almost like a hologram,” says Tischler. The sunburst
QUIET CALM
sideboard also reflects light brilliantly, he adds, giving the straw a
Cedar Grove’s Glen Guarino, a retired high school woodshop
golden hue. In fact, he says, “We are marketing our collaborative
teacher who can now give full time and full energy to his art, has
efforts under the name Studio Rumpelstiltskin, because we turn
prepared a formal statement, emphasizing his intent to build
straw into gold.”
furniture that “speaks clearly, in a language that conveys a sense
‘ETERNITY OF BEAUTY’ of the person behind the art.”
Russian born and trained Leonid Zakurdayev, a Philadelphia- He wants his clients and all those who see his furniture to
based master woodcarver, claims his works are inspired by the great recognize it as the work of “someone who loves the creative process
European masters. When and respects the beauty of
he and his wife Svetlana the material from which it
create a piece, he says, is made. As each viewer
“We are struggling for moves a hand along the
every smallest detail, lines of the work, I want
striving for an eternity of him to sense the skill and
beauty.” love for the craft needed
Before leaving Europe to create it.”
in 1999, the Zakurdayevs Two of Guarino’s fa-
— he does the carving and vorite creations are an
she does the finishing — Asian interpretation table
restored many of Russia’s and an ash and bubinga
national treasures for mu- dining table. The first is
seums, churches and pub- made from a fallen wal-
lic buildings. In addition, nut tree that he saved
Photo: Peter Jacobs, fineartsimaging.com
they designed original from being turned into
pieces for both private firewood. “That wood was
and government clients air-dried for about five
and for foreign embassies years,” he says, “while
in Moscow. Black walnut dresser with French
I was waiting for the right
In 2001, the couple rye straw front by Peter Tischler design. The warm color,
created a one-of-a-kind the grain and the feel of
Art Nouveau-inspired mirror frame that took first place at the the material were just what I wanted for this table. My intent was
International Woodcarvers Congress. A similar piece, still avail- to design a quiet piece of furniture that could contribute a sense of
able, is hand-carved from butternut with no gold leaf and is calm to a room, so I created gentle curves with an old hand plane,
finished with shellac. It measures 24 1/2 inches wide by 2 inches the kind of curves that ask to be touched.”
in diameter and 43 inches high. The ash and bubinga dining table was completed under a tight
deadline, says the artist. “The clients needed it to be finished in
RHYTHMIC PROPORTIONS
time for Thanksgiving, and I was able to install it on the Tuesday
According to Steve Butler, who runs the woodworking studio for
before the holiday. I loved the design, and, fortunately, the project
the Peters Valley Craft Center in Layton, furniture art should “create
came together without a problem.”
a dialogue with the user.” Butler, who started out as a professional
The story doesn’t end there, however. “A few days later,” says
musician but couldn’t make a living at it, now approaches furniture
Guarino, “the clients called to tell me about a compliment they
building as he might a musical composition.
received from an owner of a well-known Manhattan design firm
“Both must speak of rhythm and proportion. Through the inter-
who had come to a meeting at their home. After glancing at the
connection of parts, I strive to create forms that are engaging vi-
table several times, he asked, ‘Where did you get that? I’ve been in
sually from all sides, developing an interaction between viewer and
the furniture business 30 years and have never seen anything that
object.”
nice.’ The clients became my best customers.”
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3. GLASS WITH CLASS them with crotch satinwood. The piece is made from crotch
To Gabriel Romeu, whose studio is in Chesterville, all his design mahogany, satinwood, holly and ebony,” he says.
work and craftsmanship evolves from problem solving. “The basic While many of the artists mentioned here primarily work alone,
question is how the object will relate to the user, how it will Klausz employs a staff of up to 10 skilled craftsmen at his custom-
successfully fulfill its ‘mission’ of utility and still be somewhat built, 4,000-square-foot workshop in Pluckemin.
pleasing in appearance when it is not in a period of interaction. TEAM CONCEPT
Overriding concerns are durability, sustainability and safety.”
Greenbaum Interiors is another studio that believes in a team
He describes a pair of his tables as being “environmentally
concept. With showrooms in Morristown and Paterson, the com-
sound,” explaining that they’re constructed with a minimum of
pany has some 30 artisans who create home furnishings across
materials and can be finished onsite. Typically, he says, the base
the spectrum of design styles. Many of the furniture makers were
and glass surface would be ordered remotely and assembled at the
trained in “the finest ateliers in Europe,” says Susan Greenbaum
client’s home or business. “Even the packaging is lightweight,
Gross, who helps manage the 56-year-old family firm.
and its small size makes for
One of Greenbaum’s signa-
low-impact shipping,” he
ture pieces is the Kotzian
adds proudly.
table, also known as a jupe
Romeu says he favors
table. Made in five- to seven-
glass as a medium because of
foot rounds on a swivel base
its ability to diffuse light. “I
in a variety of woods and
order glass tabletops to size,
veneers, including crotch
which I will drill (if appropri-
mahogany, bird’s-eye maple,
ate to the piece) with a dia-
rosewood and zebrawood,
mond core bit on a drill
prices range from $17,000 for
press.” He also introduces
a simple base up to $32,000
graphic design to the glass
with a Regency base.
tops. Some have sandblasted
To those who believe that
patterns and illustrated sur-
furniture art must be old to
faces that he draws, scans on
be good, Klausz asserts, “The
the computer, traces to a vec-
craft is not dying. In my shop,
tor image and then cuts,
I have very talented young
using masking material on a
associates who are capable
plotter.
of doing the most incredible
MASTER CABINETMAKER hand-made furniture and
One of the best known and room interiors, including
most respected furniture Crawford-style beamed ceil-
artists in New Jersey is Frank ings and paneling to meet
Klausz, who is classically anyone’s most demanding
Queen Anne lowboy in
trained, beginning with a curly maple by Frank Klausz desires.”
four-year apprenticeship in
his native Hungary as well as long experience as a journeyman
before he became a master cabinetmaker. Klausz says, “What we RESOURCES
do is luxury. People who hire us expect nothing but the best.”
Glen Guarino Leonid and Svetlana Zakurdayev
Today, many commissions come his way from Brandes Maselli, a Cedar Grove, 973.239.7867 Philadelphia, 215.673.6773
top-ranked architectural firm located in Bernardsville. www.guarinofurnituredesigns.com www.zakurdayevfinewoodcarving.com
Two projects stick out in Klausz’s mind. The first is a suite Frank Klausz Steve Butler
of Jacobean-style, hand-carved furniture for the New Jersey Pluckemin, 908.658.4396 Layton, 973.948.5200
www.frankklausz.com www.petersvalley.org
Statehouse in Trenton. Commissioned by the state’s Council on
Gabriel Romeu Greenbaum Interiors
the Arts Department, the pieces represent long hours of detailed, Chesterville, 609.291.8624 Paterson, Morristown
meticulous work by Klausz and his associate, Victor Bondarenko. www.studiofurniture.com 1.800.490.1325
www.greenbauminteriors.com
Klausz also takes great pleasure from a corner cabinet he Peter Tischler
Washington, 908.689.3370
designed to match his Hepplewhite dining room furniture. www.petertischler.com
“I framed the gothic arches by replacing the glass surrounding
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