Eliot Childress, The Next Chapter (FURNITURE 2025)

Photos:

Mark Juliana

Country

United States of America

This piece marks a transitional point in my life as I venture into the world of professional furniture making. I made use of the idea of turning the page to a new chapter in my life as the main design inspiration. As for technical inspiration, this piece arose from a request from my woodworker father who wanted a Krenov inspired cabinet for his home. As such, my focus throughout was on traditional joinery and pushing my technical skills to new limits. I wanted the overall design to be fairly simple but also to demonstrate the kinds of advanced technical details that would appeal to people experienced in the craft. My overarching goal for this piece was to begin with the idea of a rectilinear cabinet and introduce subtle curves wherever possible. For example, the walls of the case are curved, necessitating curved dovetails on each of the corners. Likewise, the drawer slips and drawer fronts are curved. Finally, the main door, which was carefully hand carved from a solid piece of timber, is also curved.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.