Mark Emirzian QA Side Table in Tiger Maple

Here's a sweet little custom table I did for one of my local customers that arrived today. This is made of tiger maple solids, priced at $ 1,450. Handmade in Massachusetts.

I took some detail photos so show how a correctly done piece is supposed to look. First and foremost, the art of a piece is in the legs (most folks look at the top). If the legs are wrong, the design is a failure. They should have a light look, with a defined curve to the pad foot. This is the most difficult part to make on the piece, and in a handmade piece these are carved/shaved, not done on a high speed duplicator. You should be able to see imperfections in the leg from it being hand-cut (see detail photo). This is what gives the piece its collectible value, and immediately sets it apart from other mass-produced furniture.

You can also see the drawer is not only dovetailed, but hand-cut on the pins. American dovetails should be thicker than the fine-pin English cousins, and this tells the collector this is an American piece. The drawer bottom should be hand-scraped pine or poplar - NEVER plywood and there should be no glue blocks, staples or metal on the bottom.

This has a 2-board bookmatched top to it and is finished in an aniline stain with orange shellac to make the finish and the stripes in the tiger maple 'pop'. The skirt is carved into the legs in a continuous arc unlike cheaper variants that try to merge a cut skirt to a leg.

Look at the table flipped upside down. This is what you want to see in a high-quality piece. Thick skirt detail added to the base, and solid wood drawer runners.

This is a well-executed. museum-quality piece as befits the price tag, and the very definition of a Benchmade piece.

Hi - I am new to this post and glad to be here. I also own a small Mark Emirzian table (Queen Anne Breakfast Table) and it practically glows from the corner of my living room. It has super delicate legs which make the piece so special. They are ... sexy ... as far as furniture is concerned. I would buy another piece from him in a heart beat.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by tigermaplefan

- I also own a small Mark Emirzian table (Queen Anne Breakfast Table) and it practically glows from the corner of my living room. It has super delicate legs which make the piece so special. They are ... sexy ... as far as furniture is concerned. I would buy another piece from him in a heart beat.

---

Enjoyed this thread as I anticipate the arrival of a Sheraton stand made by Mark Emirzian (ordered through The Keeping Room). I love the leg turnings and look forward to Mark's table charming a small sitting area in our home. Reading about qualities of a fine bench made piece and seeing images, Duane, makes furniture buying a lovely experience too.

You should see where Mark makes his furniture....in a huge barn behind his house that was built in 1820, atop a hill that overlooks Wilbraham college. Half the time I expect that barn to fall down on me when I'm at his workshop. His finish room is .... outside the front door of the barn on the gravel driveway! No kidding. There is no fancy computerized gear at his place, just a lot of hand tools and old-school way of doing things.

John Buchanan is no more advanced. His workshop is a 2-car garage behind his house in Ohio.

Both Mark and John think High Tech is having a fax machine. But they sure do know their craft and are good at what they do.

Tigermaplefan: You are SO right. That's the essence of making a fine Queen Anne leg. It should look sensuous. If it does evoke that when you look at it - then its done correctly. I have the same table as you in my house as well. One of my favorites.