Hank Holzer

Hank often pushes the limit of practicality in his design aesthetics. Sometimes furniture dances more than standing still. Other times chairs boarder on the improbable only to be found so comfortable when finally used. Tabletops might have windows into the joinery below, other surfaces might be highly textured, twisted even fractured, with structure restored through inlays and tinted epoxies. Benches, chairs and tables sometimes seem to grow right from the trees. The furniture he builds, he hopes to amuse and entertain the owners, it is furniture that will continue to delight for generations.

Hank finds working with all the curved shapes both challenging and rewarding. Many unusual tooling techniques need to be created to manage the pieces. "It usually takes far longer to design the jigs to safely hold the pieces than is takes to actually use the equipment. It would be far simpler to build more straight forward projects but then what would be the use of being a designer? It's really fun to come in each day and not know what the next set of solutions will be, basically, how will I work my way out of this dilemma "

Hank started his professional woodworking career in the early 1980’s. Before this time, while a practicing chemist, he studied furniture design and began building furniture for himself and friends. Before this time, in college, he spent many spare hours in friends shops. Yet further back in High School he spent most days with a friend and mentor in his wood shop. And then going back to grade school, he lay down under tables and chairs wondering what it was that held these things together and tracing the lovely grain patterns in the surfaces.

“You might say I’ve been involved with wood and woodworking all my life. Growing up in the Midwest and surrounded by mature hardwood trees, I gained an early appreciation for the gift of this material. The diversity of grains, color, figure and light reflectance makes for appealing visuals, the warmth of wood feels so good to the hand.”