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Thread: Jonathan Charles

  1. #1
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    Default Re: Jonathan Charles

    You never know exactly what the woods are in these pieces, as there are so many species that what is native to Vietnam is different than what we have in North America. It confuses me sometimes, and I've been working with fine woods for over a quarter of a century. From what I can tell, they are using well-applied veneers over a non-nondescript native hardwood that I can't identify by sight, and then a combination of solids as well (mostly Mahogany). I've had one other small batch of their product in and its old relatively quickly, and I had confidence enough in what I saw to order about 20 pieces at Market this past October. I like it for the price/value and style choices. While I would naturally prefer to have it done benchmade by a USA Craftsman, the reality of that is those pieces would be 3x to 4x more costly to do them that way. So I think its a reasonable alternative to the really good stuff and don't anticipate seeing and failure issues with the product.
    Duane Collie
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  2. #2
    Cookie Guest

    Default Re: Jonathan Charles

    Duane, do you think they also use veneer on dining chairs?

    I was looking at their French ladderback style carver chair (#494773). It seems to have tenon and mortise joints, but I am not certain if it has a solid walnut frame (vs. walnut veneer over some other solids).

    http://www.jonathancharlesfurniture....roduct_id=2435

  3. #3
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    Default Re: Jonathan Charles

    I'd have to check into that, but I don't recall ever seeing anyone use veneer on a dining chair - its generally not done very often.
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Jonathan Charles

    My first thought is that when an Asian company says "walnut", that may be a species of walnut that is different than what you would get from a western manufacturer.

    My second thought is that "finish: walnut" may indicate that we're getting a description of the stain color, not the wood used in the piece. I've seen that type of confusing reference on any number of furniture store sites.

  5. #5
    Cookie Guest

    Default Re: Jonathan Charles

    What aaron said re: finish concerns me.

    The finish on the pieces I've looked at in Jonathan Charles' catalog always matches the "wood" name in the description (oak, walnut, mahogany, etc). In the description, they sometimes use the words "solid xxx", sometimes they just say "xxx", other times they say "xxx veneer". It's confusing.
    Last edited by Cookie; 03-12-2013 at 08:27 AM.

  6. #6
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    Default Re: Jonathan Charles

    Don't confuse Jonathan Charles with fine furniture - its not. What it is however is decent design and workmanship (made in Vietnam) at reasonable price points. The price is about 1/3 of what it would cost me to have a master cabinentmaker build a piece here in the USA. I think the build is OK, the design lines are very good on most pieces and it makes for a good alternative to pieces that would be much more costly.

    There are woods in their products that are native to SE Asia that I don't see in domestic USA product., that's for sure. Some I don't even recognize. But the veneers are well-done and the joinery is good, so there ya go!
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

  7. #7
    Ci2Eye Guest

    Default Re: Jonathan Charles

    Duane,

    Do you still carry this line? They seem to make some interesting small items like decorative boxes, bookends, etc. but according to their website, there's no retailer near me; only what appear to be interior designers that offer the brand.

  8. #8
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    Default Re: Jonathan Charles

    Yes, I do but their website is a disaster to navigate. I usually just give up trying to find things on it!
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

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