Cabin Fever

Museum Quality, Custom Made

The envelope of materials that form the skin and bones of a house do not make it a home. It is what we choose to furnish it with that stamps our own personalities on our dwellings, that truly reflect our taste and sensibilities.

And what can more directly reflect a person’s taste than a commissioned piece of art or furniture. Just such an acquisition can be achieved by traveling down a country road in Hillsdale NY to the workshop and gallery of master furniture maker Joel Mark.

Before moving to Columbia County in 2002, Mark operated Joel Mark Cabinetmakers in Brooklyn NY for 28 years, working in the highly competitive metropolitan area with many of the city’s prominent architects and designers. His business focused primarily on residential interiors, corporate executive offices and showrooms.

In Hillsdale, the graduate of the Clarkson University School of Engineering opened a woodworking shop on his property to design and build his own museum-quality furniture. In a video produced for Neumann Fine Art, a now-closed gallery in Hillsdale, Mark explained that his goal is to provide clients with “impeccable craftsmanship” using of both modern and traditional woodworking techniques.

“I am a perfectionist,” he said. “I want the joinery to be perfect; for it to be a seamless piece; for every connection to be perfect; the grain in the wood to go in a certain direction; to intersect other parts of the furniture in a certain way and for the final finish to be as flawless as it can possibly be. I want the finished product to be a beautiful, lasting work.”

He says, “It is of paramount importance to me that a piece of custom furniture projects an elegance when viewed from all angles.”

Mark, whose full name is Joel Mark Kupperstein, says he is comfortable working in many styles but confesses to being especially drawn to and influenced by the masters of Modern Scandinavian and Art Deco furniture. “I am a geometry-based builder,” he said. “That’s why I’ve been so fascinated with Art Deco in particular. Those forms are appealing to me. Art deco designers had a form in mind and then brought the materials into play. … and I work that way.”

In addition, he says insight has been drawn from the talented architects and designers with whom he has worked throughout his four-decades-long career.

Moving from concept to finished product can be a long process. “When designing, I spend a lot of time drawing,” he said. And, he added, he gets a lot of ideas from customers and what their pragmatic needs are.

In preparing for a commission, time is spent in discussions and mock-ups. “The commissioning process is involved. Sometimes as much time is seemingly spent in that (as in) building the piece,” he said.

“It’s a very personal thing and I take it very seriously. There are lots of drawings, lots of finished samples, lots of veneers and woods presented and discussed. It’s really a fascinating process for me and I enjoy it a tremendous amount.”

The process starts with a discussion of materials, location, purpose, size, design options and the client’s budget. A design fee is charged for new work to cover the time spent sketching and drafting the project as well as completing full-scale mockups and samples that may be necessary. During the fabrication period, customers are encouraged to visit the workshop to see the work in progress.

He says having such input can actually making designing easier than originating an idea “from a blank canvas and deciding on a piece I’m going to make.”

Furniture is, of course, designed to be used and chairs, in particular, go through a scrupulous process of development to ensure that they are both comfortable and works of art.

While he appreciates the wood he works with, he says his first consideration is form. “When selecting wood, I select it to fit a certain function or form I have in mind,” he said. “I don’t find a specific piece of wood and have an idea of what I want to do with it. I am very sculptural in my thinking…. I love the medium and the richness of wood but my primary concern is the form.”

He uses premium quality, carefully selected hardwoods and veneers acquired from merchants around the country. He also maintains a substantial inventory of American black walnut and cherry that is replenished from loggers in the Northeast. “The logs are all milled to my specifications, which I personally oversee at local sawmills,” he says on his website. “The lumber is then carefully air- and kiln-dried to ensure proper moisture content and stability.”

Among his clients have been the Armani flagship store, Bergdorf Goodman (Fendi furs showrooms), Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar and Grill, Cafe Luxembourg, the Calvin Klein Corporate and Saks Fifth Avenue showrooms, Carlyle Hotel’s private residential suites, the Time Warner CEO offices and reception area, the Dona Karan corporate offices and more.

Joel Mark Museum Quality Furniture is located at 92 Rockledge Road, Hillsdale NY 12529; 518-325-3031; joelmarkwood@gmail.com.