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Masters of the Craft

Geoffrey Warner: Assembling a Life

Jon Binzen, senior editor

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Coastal Maine provides the perfect backdrop for the evolving works of furnituremaker Geoffrey Warner.

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Geoffrey Warner spent a year after college working for a luthier in Maine. Warner loved music and loved making things with wood, but he soon found the constraints of making musical instruments too confining. He soon made his way into furniture making and after working on his own for a while he had the good fortune to catch Tage Frid in his last year as a teacher at Rhode Island School of Design. Frid, the Danish master cabinetmaker who was Fine Woodworking magazine's most important early contributor and perhaps the most influential woodworking teacher of his generation, told his students that with a sound education in woodworking they'd always be able to make a living. And he told them to be open to doing anything. 

Warner learned well. His furniture through the years displays a clear mastery of woodworking technique. It also demonstrates a willingness to apply his skills to any number of different endeavors. In addition to custom furniture, Warner has built everything from guitars to kitchens. And these days he is stretching in another direction, developing a line of affordable furniture that can be made in batches and sold across the country.

Warner now lives on the coast of Maine, where he plays music and captains a sailboat when he isn't hard at work in the shop.

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Comments (5)

rroselavy writes: I also was at RISD (but in the late eighties - after Frid), and definitely see hints of Tag Frid's influence in some of Warner's design, particularly his chairs. His work seems to go far beyond that, however. Nice.

Posted: 1:43 am on November 16th

Azebiki writes: I can't help but think that his life has helped to evolve his art, and his art has enhanced his life. I'm envious.
Posted: 5:32 am on October 30th

pitbully writes: A true artist.Thanks for the article Jon.
Posted: 1:25 pm on October 29th

picciuto writes: Absolutely beautiful and creative.
Posted: 11:56 am on October 28th

sanangelo writes: Warner appears to have that rare ability to blend his artistic passions in music, woodworking, and sailing with hard work and business savvy to “assemble” a remarkable life.
Nice article!
Posted: 7:22 am on October 2nd

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