Thomas Moser: Solid Wood Furniture

In Auburn, Maine, noted woodworking author and furniture maker Thomas Moser runs his custom-built furniture shop. Nearly 100 employees carefully craft beds, chairs, chests and tables from cherry, maple, walnut and other hardwoods harvested from the forests of the northeastern United States.

From the company’s humble first offerings of predominantly Shaker designs in the early 1970’s, their portfolio has grown to include Asian, Mission and other historically-inspired forms. The Moser works are famous and notable, with pieces featured in design magazines, TV shows and craft museums. The company’s web site also mentions that President George W. Bush and Pope Benedict XVI held a meeting while seated in their Harpswell arm chairs this past April.

The site offers an interesting glimpse into the company’s humble beginnings and a very impressive shop tour which focuses on the materials, method and – most importantly – people who make this outstanding furniture.

While most of us won’t be able to afford a Moser original in our homes, the furniture forms and materials the company uses can certainly serve as a point of inspiration for your own works.