Materials

I use woods from all over the world, from domestic North American woods like Maple and Oak, to exotic tropical woods like Mahogany and Yellow Narra.

Naturally-finished wood provides many design opportunities.  Wood has all kinds of grain patterns and a variety of colours, and I use these patterns and colours very intentionally in my design process.  There is a big difference between a piece that uses grain and colour intentionally and one that uses it haphazardly.  The intentional piece will have a sense of balance to it, while the haphazard piece will feel on edge and not quite right.

Besides wood, other natural materials such as Danish Cord, caning, or hickory bark, for example, can be woven into chair seats, and metals such as brass are used for hinges.

The choice and careful use of materials makes a big difference during the design and build processes, and these choices are some of the things that make the creation of a new piece very exciting and special.
Methods

I use traditional tools and techniques as well as modern technology where it makes sense.

During the design process, I use sketches and scale drawings where beneficial, and I almost always use 3-D mockups to give me a good idea of what the final piece will look like when completed.  The mockup allows me to explore ideas, shapes, and sizes to see what they look like in three dimensions.  Even scale models or full-scale drawings can only give a close approximation — nothing beats seeing the idea as a full-scale mockup.

Many modern power tools are very useful for the rough work of bringing rough boards down to final dimensions — much easier and quicker than using hand tools!  I also use power tools for milling many kinds of joinery.

However, nothing beats a hand plane for creating fine surfaces and details.  A finely adjusted spokeshave quickly and easily creates a gentle curve, and a sharp chisel or gouge is indispensibe for fine-tuning joinery to a perfect fit or adding texture to a surface.

Accuracy and fine tolerances on joinery are critical both for the look of a piece as well as its strength and longevity.  This is why all of my joints are carefully hand-fit to fine tolerances.  Power tools are very useful to getting many kinds of joints very close, but the final fit is done by hand.