Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeff Miller.
Jeff, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was working as a freelance musician when I first started making furniture for friends and family. It was a way to fill in between jobs. But it soon took over, and I found greater satisfaction in designing and building furniture than as a musician. Over the years I have expanded what I do to include teaching woodworking and writing about both designing and building furniture. My current work is a balanced mix of design, making high end furniture, teaching all over the country, and writing both books and articles.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The road has been anything but smooth, as one would expect for a creative field. Aside from the challenges of learning to design better and better pieces and the technical challenges of building this furniture, the rise of ever cheaper furniture means that people expect to pay less and see less and less quality work.
Please tell us about J. Miller Handcrafted Furniture.
I have been designing and crafting high quality furniture for almost 34 years now. My work taps into a rich tradition of furniture making using the best materials and techniques. As the overall furniture market moves more and more to disposable, cheaply-made work, I’ve stuck with building only the highest quality furniture.
Over the years, I have concentrated more and more on chairs (although I continue to build all types of free-standing furniture). The chair has always been a tremendous challenge do well, and it is very satisfying to have come up with designs that are remarkably comfortable, visually exciting, and durable.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
It’s hard to think of starting over! There have been so many lessons learned (and so many mistakes corrected). Then I started out, there were far fewer educational opportunities available, and I wish I had a more formal education in woodworking. But I think I ultimately learned more by needing to figure things out on my own, aided by a handful of seminal books.
Contact Info:
- Address: J. Miller Handcrafted Furniture
1774 W. Lunt Avenue
Chicago, IL 60626 - Website: www.furnituremaking.com
- Phone: 773 761 3311
- Email: info@furnituremaking.com
- Instagram: @furnituremaking
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/J-Miller-Handcrafted-Furniture
- Twitter: @handcraftedfurn
Image Credit:
Photos by Jeff Miller, Stuart Block, Asa Christiana, and Tanya Tucka
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