Furniture maker's mark

The concept of a maker’s mark is not a new one. It has been around for centuries. It is a means to distinguish one’s work from another maker. It also adds a personal touch to every piece created by a maker. I have incorporated maker’s marks in my own work for the past two decades and have had excellent feedback from clients. Clients love the fact that the furniture piece they purchase is created by an individual. It adds to the cachet of the piece and serves to provide identification of the origin of the piece. Decades from now, the maker’s mark instantly identifies the furniture piece as created by a particular maker with the location of its creation. The new maker’s mark designed for my studio captures the essence of my work and the detail I like to instill in my work.

So I also use the new maker’s mark for my other work, namely woodworking tools. I find a place on each tool to inlay the maker’s mark. In a strange way, adding a maker’s mark inspires me to do my best work. Attaching my name to a furniture piece or handmade tool makes me more conscious of how the tool or furniture will likely be passed on from generation to generation.

Furniture maker’s marks also provide a historical point of reference to a piece of furniture or tool. The maker and country of origin can then be traced back to a particular maker. Maker’s marks can either be stamped on a furniture piece or hand tool or created as brass inlay similar to this new one applied to my work.



I hope everyone is enjoying the summer. It is my favourite time of year. I can shed the layers of clothing worn in other seasons and simply walk out the door. No complaints here about heat or humidity. The hot, humid part only really lasts a few weeks or months and the freezing cold alternative is always fresh on my mind 🙂  More tools at:  www.refinededge.com 

New hand tools...

Have a look.. 6 new hand tools!  Updated Tools section at Pirollo Design!  Performed the photography today.

This was supposed to be completed a month ago but had major issues (out of my control) to deal with in my small artisan business. So I was in suspense for a month waiting for things to settle. The Courses tab has been beefed up with new photography and sub-categories as well as a more up to date Blog section. I will be creating short videos on each of the tool pages to demonstrate how to effectively use the tools. Two more tools are in the pipeline before the end of the year. I enjoy learning and challenges, so spent time designing and prototyping these tools. The design and prototyping stages were actually fun, but sourcing the hardware was at times frustrating. It’s all good now, I am significantly more knowledgeable in this space than only 3 months ago.

The hand tools are predominantly shaping and measuring tools. I created these tools to address processes I use in my own furniture making. For example, the depth gauge address the issue of determining the depth of holes or mortises. I would find myself using small bamboo sticks, pencils, etc. to perform this measurement. I knew there had to be a better way. Another example, the measuring tool helps considerably in transferring measurements from one board to another. Possibly more of these small hand tools before the end of the year.  More info at www.pirollodesign.com