Thoughts on design...

I had an enjoyable Christmas holiday period along with my wife, and we managed to get some skiing in as well as trekking through small boutiques and shops in the mountain villages up here. The weather has been snowy but great otherwise. I last left off with the jewelry armoire fairly complete aside from some small detail work, the hardware fitting and the actual finishing process. I've been prepping the armoire in the past day or so to begin applying the thinned shellac coats using a small pad applicator. Typically I apply many light coats of shellac with some very light, fine sanding between some of the coats, this is to keep the shellac layers levelled and remove any nibs, etc.. The finishing I will begin in the next day or so.

In the meantime I've been giving some thought to a new design I will be working on next. The client for this piece has also been following the jewelry armoire project and would like a piece in a similar vein with some unique differences. This particular piece will not be dedicated to jewelry, at least this is the design discussed to date, I therefore have fewer restraints to work with. The new cabinet on stand I have in mind for this client is not quite as tall as the jewelry armoire and will have a different drawer arrangement inside. There is no need for as many drawers as the jewelry armoire in this design. At this point I haven't even created any sketches for the client, just some thoughts in my mind and visions of what I would like to propose to the client. I'm debating a few different designs in my mind and am also considering incorporating some curved work into this cabinet on stand. I have many considerations to discuss with the client including the

- contemporary styling of the piece
- surrounding furniture ( complement or contrast)
- focal piece or blend in
- showcase or not
- proportions and scale with respect to room space
- color ( wood types)
- detail work
- flat or curved panels
etc.

I'll be working on these criteria in the next few days while I am completing the jewelry armoire. In the meantime, above is a drawing of a credenza design I had worked on a few months ago. This particular design was a blend of contemporary and Hepplewhite style influence, with the Hepplewhite elements being predominant. Although I have a few designs ready, the actual commission has not occurred to date. When and if it does occur, the beauty of hard copy sketches is that I will have them ready and we can continue with the evolution of this particular design. The design of this credenza also allowed me to delve into Hepplewhite period furniture elements and design, all good for future reference.