Home Sweet Home

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furnished delights: (from left) A dresser by Aaron Hyman; a couch by Kathy Halton and Bob Ingram,a co-founder of the Philadelphia Furniture & Furnishings Show; a table by Rachel Fuld.

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Studio-made-furniture makers find a welcoming community in Philadelphia.

by Judith Norkin

Headline-making prices for antique Philadelphia-made furniture might fool you into thinking that local furniture makers are dead and gone, but the fact is that a vibrant community of contemporary artisans works here, designing and crafting what might be tomorrow’s treasures today. With the Philadelphia Furniture & Furnishings Show (PFFS) at the Convention Center next week, it’s time to look into the local furniture-making scene.

One place to start is with Bob Ingram, a tireless supporter, promoter and mentor to many local furniture makers. Ingram co-founded the PFFS eight years ago with Josh Markel. He co-owns a well-established furniture-making studio, on East Columbia Street in Fishtown, with Jack Larimore. When not producing the PFFS or managing the studio, Ingram builds furniture that he describes as veering between \"neoclassical, smartly tailored, post-Biedermeier style with lots of veneers and inlays\" and \"whimsical, post-hip country.\"

Ingram is full of opinions about what attracts furniture makers from all over the U.S. to Philadelphia. He cites a strong but open network of furniture makers, gallery owners and studio art programs. But high on his list is the city\'s historic manufacturing past. \"Philadelphia is full of jobbers and suppliers who provide the tools that furniture makers need to succeed. There\'s so much infrastructure here. There are metal spinners and lamp-frame manufacturers and glass blowers and upholsterers. It\'s all part of Philadelphia\'s old blue-collar industries.\"

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Ingram also cites the PFFS. Exhibiting there is an annual rite for many local furniture makers who make important sales and are seen by the nearly 10,000 people who come to the show each spring, he says.

The beauty of the PFFS is that it serves the needs of buyers and exhibitors.

Buyers like the retail-sales orientation: \"Even if a buyer visited a furniture maker\'s studio, he or she might not understand where their work fits into the continuum of contemporary art. With many objects on display at the show, buyers can compare styles and prices and be confident their purchase is sound. It would take a lot of time and traveling to get to as many individual galleries or studios as are represented here under one roof.\" And the friendly, noncompetitive atmosphere and reputation for quality attracts exhibitors: \"People who come to exhibit at the furniture show from around the country say they were afraid of exhibiting with a bunch of other decorative artists. They think it\'s going to be very competitive and are surprised to find out how really friendly everyone really is.\"

Ingram\'s involvement in the field extends to his cooperative studio. It\'s a base of operations for 14 artists working in a wide variety of materials and styles. Cooperative studios are common in the field, explains Ingram, because equipping a shop with the necessary machinery and hand tools can cost about $50,000 -- a lot of money for a decorative artist, whether beginning or established. When Ingram and Larimore bought the building 20 years ago, its roof was falling in and there was no heat. Today, the place is in sound condition and looks like any other warehouse, blending anonymously with the small rowhouses surrounding it.

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Though outside the street is deserted and quiet, there\'s plenty of activity inside. The safety-goggled artists concentrate single-mindedly on their work. There is pounding and scraping and the whining buzz of saws. The astringent smell of chemicals hangs in the air and folk-rock plays in the background. Looking around, the place is awash in wood -- the building\'s centuries-old structural elements aged a dirty gray, the work surfaces a golden mid-tone and numerous works in progress unstained and pale. Conversations with three of the studio\'s residents, each of whom will be exhibiting at the PFFS next week, offers glimpses of what makes Philadelphia a furniture-maker\'s mecca.

Aaron Hyman is a 33-year-old sculptor and painter from Michigan who came to Philadelphia in 1998 after finishing his MFA at the University of Wisconsin. When asked what drew him here, he quickly says \"love.\" Hyman\'s girlfriend (now wife) was at that time a dancer enrolled in a local graduate program. There\'s also no doubt that, professionally speaking, Hyman thinks Philadelphia is the place to be. \"There is everything here. It\'s an easy city to live in, and the furniture-rich past is a big plus. The history of American furniture in Philadelphia is as good as it gets, and as naive as it sounds, I like seeing myself as part of that history. I\'m not a super-famous furniture maker, but I\'m making furniture here like they did.\"

Rachel Fuld, 33, a New Hampshire native, is another artist working at the Fishtown studio. Fuld first visited Philadelphia while still a student at Oberlin College in Ohio. Her move here was initially inspired when, during that visit, she stopped at the Art Museum and spied some Wharton Esherick work that made a deep impression. \"That\'s when I began to think I might come here.\" She eventually landed a professional internship in 1990 and has been here since.

Professionally, Philadelphia fits all of Fuld\'s needs. \"Philadelphia is a good place. It has the PFFS show and a very good craft show. It has a number of galleries and a number of schools. You have proximity to the marketplaces -- Washington, New York, Providence and Boston. I also like the people here. They\'re friendly and cooperative, and people, especially Jack Larimore, have very generously shared time and information.\" Fuld says it would be harder to be in New York, citing obstacles like a higher cost of living and a more closed artistic community.

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Icepack
-A.D. Amorosi

April 18-24, 2002

naked city

Home Sweet Home

furnished delights: (from left) A dresser by Aaron Hyman; a couch by Kathy Halton and Bob Ingram,a co-founder of the Philadelphia Furniture & Furnishings Show; a table by Rachel Fuld.

Studio-made-furniture makers find a welcoming community in Philadelphia.

by Judith Norkin

One place to start is with Bob Ingram, a tireless supporter, promoter and mentor to many local furniture makers. Ingram co-founded the PFFS eight years ago with Josh Markel. He co-owns a well-established furniture-making studio, on East Columbia Street in Fishtown, with Jack Larimore. When not producing the PFFS or managing the studio, Ingram builds furniture that he describes as veering between "neoclassical, smartly tailored, post-Biedermeier style with lots of veneers and inlays" and "whimsical, post-hip country."

Ingram is full of opinions about what attracts furniture makers from all over the U.S. to Philadelphia. He cites a strong but open network of furniture makers, gallery owners and studio art programs. But high on his list is the city's historic manufacturing past. "Philadelphia is full of jobbers and suppliers who provide the tools that furniture makers need to succeed. There's so much infrastructure here. There are metal spinners and lamp-frame manufacturers and glass blowers and upholsterers. It's all part of Philadelphia's old blue-collar industries."

The beauty of the PFFS is that it serves the needs of buyers and exhibitors.

Buyers like the retail-sales orientation: "Even if a buyer visited a furniture maker's studio, he or she might not understand where their work fits into the continuum of contemporary art. With many objects on display at the show, buyers can compare styles and prices and be confident their purchase is sound. It would take a lot of time and traveling to get to as many individual galleries or studios as are represented here under one roof." And the friendly, noncompetitive atmosphere and reputation for quality attracts exhibitors: "People who come to exhibit at the furniture show from around the country say they were afraid of exhibiting with a bunch of other decorative artists. They think it's going to be very competitive and are surprised to find out how really friendly everyone really is."

Ingram's involvement in the field extends to his cooperative studio. It's a base of operations for 14 artists working in a wide variety of materials and styles. Cooperative studios are common in the field, explains Ingram, because equipping a shop with the necessary machinery and hand tools can cost about $50,000 -- a lot of money for a decorative artist, whether beginning or established. When Ingram and Larimore bought the building 20 years ago, its roof was falling in and there was no heat. Today, the place is in sound condition and looks like any other warehouse, blending anonymously with the small rowhouses surrounding it.

Though outside the street is deserted and quiet, there's plenty of activity inside. The safety-goggled artists concentrate single-mindedly on their work. There is pounding and scraping and the whining buzz of saws. The astringent smell of chemicals hangs in the air and folk-rock plays in the background. Looking around, the place is awash in wood -- the building's centuries-old structural elements aged a dirty gray, the work surfaces a golden mid-tone and numerous works in progress unstained and pale. Conversations with three of the studio's residents, each of whom will be exhibiting at the PFFS next week, offers glimpses of what makes Philadelphia a furniture-maker's mecca.

Aaron Hyman is a 33-year-old sculptor and painter from Michigan who came to Philadelphia in 1998 after finishing his MFA at the University of Wisconsin. When asked what drew him here, he quickly says "love." Hyman's girlfriend (now wife) was at that time a dancer enrolled in a local graduate program. There's also no doubt that, professionally speaking, Hyman thinks Philadelphia is the place to be. "There is everything here. It's an easy city to live in, and the furniture-rich past is a big plus. The history of American furniture in Philadelphia is as good as it gets, and as naive as it sounds, I like seeing myself as part of that history. I'm not a super-famous furniture maker, but I'm making furniture here like they did."

Rachel Fuld, 33, a New Hampshire native, is another artist working at the Fishtown studio. Fuld first visited Philadelphia while still a student at Oberlin College in Ohio. Her move here was initially inspired when, during that visit, she stopped at the Art Museum and spied some Wharton Esherick work that made a deep impression. "That's when I began to think I might come here." She eventually landed a professional internship in 1990 and has been here since.

Professionally, Philadelphia fits all of Fuld's needs. "Philadelphia is a good place. It has the PFFS show and a very good craft show. It has a number of galleries and a number of schools. You have proximity to the marketplaces -- Washington, New York, Providence and Boston. I also like the people here. They're friendly and cooperative, and people, especially Jack Larimore, have very generously shared time and information." Fuld says it would be harder to be in New York, citing obstacles like a higher cost of living and a more closed artistic community.

After working as a furniture maker in Northampton, Mass., for many years, Alan Lorn, 47, came to Philadelphia as a strictly practical move -- his classically inspired and impeccably built formal work was not selling as well as he would have liked. "Northampton was a beautiful place, but it was too far from the market and I didn't feel I was going anywhere." Lorn says that his friends Ingram and Larimore encouraged him to come to Philadelphia and helped get him established here. The move has been good for him. Lorn says that the city offers access to serious buyers, and he now has clients in Washington, Baltimore and New York.

All happy transplants to Philadelphia, the artists agree that they all plan to stick around. Fuld, who considers herself a Philadelphian, probably puts it best. "I'm probably going to stay. That's what happens -- people come to Philadelphia and never leave."

Work by 250 artists will be on display at the PFFS, Fri.-Sun., April 19-22, $12 daily, $15 for three-day pass, Pennsylvania Convention Center, 12th and Arch sts., Hall D, 215-440-0718, www.pffshow.com.




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