Inheritance

[steveb]

For many of us, there is a good possibility that within one or two generations our furniture will be inherited by someone who does not want or appreciate it. The furniture will also appear to them to be no different from a commercial reproduction. In that case, I would like my better pieces to at least be placed in homes where they can be appreciated. My question is, how do I maximize that possibility?

The first step I think would be to write short essays explaining the significance of these better pieces, and why they are not like commercial reproductions. Then I would write ? If you do not want this piece of furniture, I recommend ?? But what should I recommend? I visited a local antique shop that was owned by a registered appraiser. This appraiser was not really interested, but said that it would be important to know if the dovetails were hand cut. How sad. So, what do I recommend?

 

[klkirkman]

steveb

The farther away from knowing you personally are the recipients, the less likely they are to treasure something you made. In addition, the old tradition of passing things down in families is disappearing; my generation seems to be the last in our family that have any interest. The world has lost a great deal of the respect for age, tradition, and experience that were once quite common.

Instead of trying to shovel against the tide, accept that your pride of creating and owning things arises from the enjoyment of creation and pride of ownership they represent to you, not that value placed on them by the world.

Having said that, the best chance you have of preserving the information about how they were made, and by whom, might be to physically attach to each one some documentation of it's background. Without that information,they become indistinguishable from every other piece over time unless you are the exceptional furniture builder who enjoys fame sufficient to give "market value"  - the thing the appraiser looks for - to your work.

Karl

 

[msiemsen]

I have two children. They are both old enough to be gone from my hands. I wish that I could write a short essay to accompany them through life so they would end up treasured and in good homes. All I could really do is raise them the best way I could to be the best they can be. They are out of my control now and must make their own way in the world. While I am still around they may come back for help from time to time, but they are essentially on their own. All I can do is let them go. It is their journey. I hope I am not around to see the end of it.

You asked, "how do I maximize that possibility?"
Do the best work you possibly can, using the best materials you can afford.
Sign your name on the bottom of a drawer with the date and city you live in.
Become famous so that people want something connected to your name.
Get started on the next piece. 

 

[Mike Manning]

Make a few photos of each piece as you work on it.  I gave my first Queen Anne chair to my parents along with a few photos.  Mom put them in a scrap book and kept it near the chair and pulled it out anytime visitors came by.  Creating a visual record of the craftsmanship has to help build a legacy of your work within the family and hopefully spur them to treasure what you have created.  With a case piece you might consider adding a dedicated pocket or location below a drawer for holding a written record and/or a photograph(s) of the work.  Creating a family genealogy, then linking your work to that family history might help connect your work with something your descendants would want to keep up with.  No guarantees that the records would be kept for hundreds of years, but in this digital age it has to be better than 200 years ago!

 

[JamesT]

I always take a photo of the wood before it gets cut up.That really turns their eyes.Most people have no concept what it takes to build this stuff.So first off I'd explain that it took so many hours to build.That it came from this and show them the wood.I know they really don't think this stuff grows on trees but in a way they do.They see furniture as something that came from Macys or where ever.Of course you might be beating a dead horse.When that happens tell em that it would cost twent thou and that really turns some heads.Hopefully they love you and thats all that matters and they just want something that was a part of you.