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This is my virtual booth for the Craft + Design Online Show from the Visual Arts Center of Richmond, VA. This will be wordy for a sales page, because one of the glories of craft shows is the opportunity to meet with people and talk at length about craft and wood and design and life. I’ll be telling stories about the pieces as if we were at the show together. People have volunteered to tell their stories about living with my work, especially the chairs. How can you buy a chair without sitting in it and feeling the satin touch of the finish. I hope these stories can help. Where you see a quote here on the page, please click through to read the whole story and see pictures of the furniture in their habitat. You can click on any picture here and be taken to my storefront for more pictures and buying information. This page is not meant to be raced through, but rather taken at a dawdle and explored. Thank you.

Love at First Sit…Along the way we have had the pleasure to get to know the artist who crafted it. And every day, we have the sensual pleasure of sitting in the chairs, stroking and admiring.

—Philip K., Geneva, Switzerland click here to read the story

As many of you may have noticed, part of my furniture design has been influenced by that of George Nakashima. My intent is to give a nod to his legacy and then take that inspiration and go in new directions. A prime example is the cantilevered Legacy Chair, which is inspired by Nakashima’s Conoid chair. Since my design inspiration lies in the arcing quality of calligraphic brush strokes, I applied it to the cantilever chair and added the ergonomics of a curved handshaped hickory back. People sit in this chair and want it.

The chairs are elegant, masterfully crafted and so comfortable the way the chair holds the human body. You’re not just sitting in the chair, you are supported and comforted by its very design.

—Rich G., Santa Barbara, CA click here to read the story

Since I was young, lines have fascinated me — the line of a mountain range profile across the horizon, a branch in winter stretched across the sky, bamboo arcing against the fence. Around 1993 I took a Japanese calligraphy and sumi-e painting class from a 92 year old Japanese woman named Nobu Yamamoto. It gradually emerged that she was the daughter of Emperor Meiji of Japan. Meiji was responsible for the restoration of the monarchy after Commodore Perry forced Japan open in the 1850s. In class we gave her a birthday party, but she came to entertain us in her ceremonial kimono and danced for us and played her shakuhachi. I found that though I loved the grace of the brush strokes and the qualities of the ink spread across the paper, that it wasn’t substantial enough for me. I had to work with tools and shape wood with the same movement and feeling. Mrs. Yamamoto died at 102. She was demonstrating Tai Chi on stage with Chungliang Al Huang and floated to the floor with a stroke.

The design (the Legacy Chair) is modern with a shape so stunning that you think it defies the laws of physics. Yet, you are held in complete comfort in an exquisite chair that is itself a work of art.

—Alice A., Santa Barbara, CA click here to read the story

I can’t tell you how much I love the table. I was just looking at it and discovered yet another angle you created with the wood. I love it.

Susan D., Santa Barbara, CA

I have a very low tolerance for working with finishes that contain highly volatile solvents. When I was a carpenter I used to almost get sick when the painter was blowing lacquer in the house. Even working with Danish oil finishes for long periods of time would affect my mind and body, because the oil contained petroleum distillate thinners and toxic metallic salt Japan driers. I knew I had to do something else in order to create the finish I wanted, but wouldn’t sicken my body, so I created my own natural, nontoxic varnish oil finish that I hand rub to a satin feel and sheen. There is no off-gassing. I toy with the idea of marketing the finish, but don’t have the funds to really do it. Maybe I’ll just give it away.

I want to thank you for visiting my page and making it through this far. If you have any questions, please call me at 805.975.7616, or email me at john@johnspiveyfurniture.com. I’m also available to schedule a video call of some type to discuss my work. I’d love to make you a piece of furniture that would both please you esthetically and be something you would love to live with for a lifetime. Clarity of form and clarity of mind.