Custom. Heirloom. Timeless. It's not for nothing that these words are appearing on the lips of shoppers everywhere.
Consumer trend watchers have tapped craftsmanship as a major influence in furniture buying as homeowners, still bruised by the depressed economy, want to surround themselves with items that remind them of better days.
Even the most mass market of retailers are getting in on the act. Pottery Barn recently introduced The Printer's Collection, "heirloom quality furniture" inspired by vintage printers' and typesetters' cabinets.
This week we celebrate the work of three Tucson companies that are making custom pieces sure to become timeless heirlooms.
Sam Correa
"I'm better at this than anything else."
Thanks to a roommate at the University of Arizona Sam Correa is building his fine furniture.
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That roommate had a table saw and Correa "started playing around with it." That led to him doing some construction and cabinetry work on the side. But his big passion was making furniture.
So two years ago, after eight years in the trade, Correa refocused his business and Correa Wood Works was born.
The 27-year-old's father should take some credit, too. He's an engineer and did all of his own home maintenance. Six-year-old Correa would make his own go-carts and treehouses with his dad's tools. And at age 10 he helped his father frame and finish a basement in their home in Anchorage, Alaska.
Correa's studies in plant ecology and his past work as an environmental research scientist mean he can look at a piece of wood and tell you what's happened in its life, from insect and animal damage to overcrowding to lightning strikes. All of these leave their marks, knots and eye-catching patterns, and Correa loves to show these off in the finished product.
He describes his style as a cross between contemporary and traditional craftsman.
"It's contemporary style with traditional guts." His signature design flourish is a tapered leg, widening from the top of a piece to the bottom. He also loves Japanese and Chinese designs.
He shares his labors - some of them lasting four weeks for one piece of furniture - on a blog.
Correa's pieces - most of them in homes, some in galleries - fetch up to $3,700 for a buffet. And with every one, he says: "I try to make it unique so that someone who's buying the piece has an endless number of details to be aware of."
Tom Liittschwager
"We cater to that home that's one of a kind."
Try calling his company a mass producer and Tom Liittschwager gets a wee bit upset.
Although Architectural Traditions employs 130 people and sends out doors and windows to customers all over the country, a mass producer it is not, he says.
"What we do here is cater to that custom home that's one of a kind," says Liittschwager, president of Architectural Traditions .
The firm was formerly known as Southwest Doors and is now affiliated with real estate and venture capital firm Diamond Ventures. Architectural Traditions operates as a walk-in showroom for locals, where homeowners can peruse examples of its doors, windows and hardware. It also works with builders, architects and interior designers, and Diamond Ventures showcases the company's products in sales models in custom subdivisions.
Around 70 people on the shop floor work on orders - the company does not carry any inventory - and every item is hand-assembled and hand-finished. Liittschwager says around 65 percent of sales are from existing designs. Orders range from one $500 door, to $500,000 packages for high-end homes.
Sales are slow, says Liittschwager, who has laid off 100 people in the last 18 months. It also soaked up a few new employees from custom manufacturer Arizona Sash & Door, which closed its doors in January after 85 years in business.
Liittschwager says even the big home spenders are changing their ways. "Instead of building a 12,000 square-foot house maybe they build the 8,000 square-foot house and create more of a jewel box."
Jeff McClain
"I haven't been out of work yet."
Construction is in Jeff McClain's genes, going back four generations to a great-great-grandfather who started a saw mill in Thatcher.
Since then, there have been construction workers and cabinet makers on both sides of his family tree.
At the age of 3, McClain was carrying tools back and forth for his father. At 14 "I could build a house from the ground up." He helped his father build three family homes, including all the cabinetry.
So when McClain moved to Tucson five years ago, from California via Texas, it made sense that this former telecommunications executive would try to make a living out of something that was second nature to him.
McClain's Arizona Heritage Cabinetry - its name a nod to all that family history - makes bathroom and kitchen cabinets, entertainment centers and shelving, and molding. McClain, who employs three others, still uses some of the hand tools his great-great-grandfather used in the late 1800s.
Business comes mostly through referrals and he's bucking the recession, he says. "I haven't been out of work yet. I've got two years' worth of business."
He attributes his success to the painstaking detail of his doors, moldings and shelves. He'll use two types and shades of wood for a drawer, just so the homeowner can see the dovetail joints that hold them together.
Wood is chemically treated to make it look aged if need be. And there is no screwing together of several cabinets; the cabinets are constructed as one big piece, made to fit a space - exactly.
"It's not enough for me to have my staff measure something to the closest line on a measuring tape," he says. "It has to be more precise than that."
Homegrown resources
Consumers not only want an heirloom, they want homegrown, says David Riley , founder of the website www.AmericansWorking.com
His site connects American consumers with products made in the USA. "These lean times lead more people to buy American-made because they see so many friends and family underemployed," says Riley, who lists up to 40 American furniture makers.
In three years the site grew to 55,000 hits last month.
Contact Gillian Drummond at gcdrummond@aol.com or visit her blog at www.gilliandrummond.net Correa Wood Works, 247- 6009 or www.correawoodworks.com Architectural Traditions, 9280 E. Old Vail Road, 574-7374 or www.architecturaltraditions.com Arizona Heritage Cabinetry, 3275 S. Dodge Blvd., 349-0567 or www.arizonaheritagecabinetry.com