Personal Collaborations Trend Prevalent at Shows

Husband and wife, father and son, boyfriend and girlfriend, colleagues, and life partners are all working together on the handcrafted work they will display and sell at this year’s Fine Furnishings Shows in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Providence, Rhode Island.

Among the collaborations exhibiting at the 2nd Annual Fine Furnishings & Fine Craft Milwaukee Show are Mark and Emi Miller. Mark is a shoji maker in Slinger, Wisconsin whilst his wife, Emi, who is originally from Japan, imports and sells shoji paper and supplies. A few years ago in Japan, Mark learned his trade from traditional shoji makers with Emi translating the language between them. Mark and Emi develop their custom shoji designs cooperatively. Then Mark constructs the shoji and Emi selects and mounts the paper. Mark then does the final delivery and installation. In Emi’s words, “The project goes back and forth between us like playing catch.”

After several years of maintaining separate businesses, the father and son duo of Charlie & John Sweitzer have joined forces to work together as Sweitzer & Sweitzer Fine Furniture in Champaign, Illinois. They create furniture that combines the beauty of North American hardwoods with elegant Shaker designs. Charlie is an accomplished wood artisan who specializes in the reproduction of Shaker chairs and boxes. His son John adapts the purity and simplicity of Shaker inspiration into sharply contemporary cabinetry including tables, hutches, writing desks, and nightstands.
Most people familiar with both men’s work assume that the elder Sweitzer passed on his knowledge to his son. However, the younger Sweitzer is a self-taught artisan. Charlie says of their relationship, “It’s the common misconception that the old duffers teach the young. My experience has been that it is the youngsters who teach the oldsters. I have great respect for John’s careful work and have learned a lot from him. It’s a pleasure to have such a good teacher.”

The collaboration of furniture makers Peter & Kate Wright of Cable, Wisconsin began several years ago when Peter asked his wife Kate, who is a painter, to do something with a stool he had built. She enjoyed the challenge of a three dimensional canvas as well as the functional utilitarian nature of such a piece. They have continued to collaborate in various ways ever since.

Tara and Cameron Tucker of Wampum, Pennsylvania work together closely in creating every piece of enamelware they sell under their company MacKintosh Enamels. Among other exhibitors showing collaborative work at the Milwaukee Fine Furnishings Show are Dan Ray and Bruce Trupold of Amana Furniture in Amana Iowa plus furniture maker Graham Burbank and his painter wife Susan Dupor of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

Watch for more about exhibitor collaborations who will be at the Providence Fine Furnishings & Fine Craft Show in our next Enewsletter coming to your email box soon!

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