Mass production—these two words just aren’t part of designer craftsman Richard Gordon’s vocabulary. His line of contemporary furniture, embodying American woodworking tradition, will never be built on an assembly line. Gordon’s routine is to create, solicit feedback, then tweak or eliminate as necessary. “It’s an exciting process that allows me to guarantee my items,” he explains. Years spent honing his skill make Gordon’s creations reliable. “My latest pieces won’t come apart in my lifetime.”
More than half the furniture Gordon produces is made with a combination of maple, often the constant, and walnut, cherry, or mahogany. This technique offers “the efficiency of making the same chair over and over and the luxury of making each one look completely different.” In addition, Gordon aims for the most effective organic shape. “The design of each chair is dictated by the human body and the lumbar curve.” But don’t let this comment make you think “orthopedic” or “unattractive.” “Each chair looks like a flower,” he says, “like petals around your dining room table.”
Though he’s an independent soul when it comes to his life’s work, Gordon knows he couldn’t do it alone. “These pieces wouldn’t be there without my family,” he explains. His wife, Ninika, is responsible for the carving and caning that gives each piece its finishing touches. His daughter and son, grew up at the shows. “My son has his own bench and understands the lathe,” says Gordon. His daughter appreciates the family atmosphere the craft show world offers but, as Gordon says, “Well, she plays her guitar.”
His family keeps him on his toes and Gordon doesn’t allow himself to become bored. “My work is a puzzle. It’s a matter of figuring out each piece of wood and the best way to join them. I can’t cut my first board until I know how the puzzle goes together,” he explains. “The process is fluid—the wood, the design—nothing is concrete. I’ll change the design if it suits
the wood.”
A Sugarloaf crafts person for about a decade, Gordon has been demonstrating for several years. “It’s amazing that people don’t believe I make each piece at home exactly the same way I demonstrate it at the shows,” says Gordon. He adores interacting with the public through his demo and also holds workshops in his studio. “Many people are paralyzed by doing something wrong,” he says, “but I tell them I went to the University of Trial and Error and majored in Error!” You never know when you might make your “greatest” mistake.
For Gordon, he’s happy to sell a rocking chair, a Lord of the Rings-inspired sword (designed by his son), or the popular-with-adults rubber band gun. “There’s nothing I make that I don’t love making,” says the artist. And, even after more than 30 years fine-tuning himself as a woodworking machine, this craftsman promises he has more to offer. “I haven’t peaked yet. I still have a lot of good designs in me.”
