About MinnerlyFurniture
MinnerlyFurniture
is a one man shop, owned and operated by Don Minnerly, located in Portland,
Or. I specialize in one-of-a-kind pieces using fine woods and stone.
Everything is carefully joined and finished using a combination of hand and
power tools.
All of my pieces are designed and built to last many lifetimes. With proper care and good luck any of these pieces will last longer then it will take for a tree to grow to to replace it.
While I sometimes do pieces on commission, I prefer designing and making what interests me at the time and finding a buyer for it later. Frequently I will run across a piece of stone or wood that is calling to me to make it into something specific. In those cases, I usually try to accommodate the materials. Any finished pieces which are for sale will be posted on the CURRENTLY AVAILABLE page on this site.
Biographical Information
I
began making harpsichords in 1968 when I was in college, majoring in music
history. Eventually that evolved into various other stringed instruments
and bows for early 17th century violas da gamba. In the early 1980's I
started making furniture in my shop in San Francisco. In 1990 I moved my
shop to Portland, where I am still.
My design techniques are derived from Japanese Architecture. Although almost none of my designs are Japanese, many of them have a slight oriental feel. I spent a great deal of time studying Japanese domestic architecture from books and from many trips to Japan. Eventually I realized that I could transfer that aesthetic from structures to furniture.
Become an owner
All of the pieces on this sight are already owned by someone. But if you see something that you really like and would like something similar, then please contact me. I almost never duplicate things that I have already made but occasionally something similar can be made. Some things are so specific to the materials that I would not be able to duplicate them if I needed to. The best way to get something is to watch the CURRENTLY AVAILABLE page; if something that you like comes up, buy it.
Links
http://www.theageofsail.com/ This is a very informative site about square-riggers, which happens to be one of my other interest.
http://www.ArtifactSculpture.com/Index.html Sculptural woodcarving by a friend of mine.
http://mikey.theageofsail.com This is a very nicely done site of modern paintings, ink drawings and photographs by another friend of mine.