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Shows Full of Story Ideas & Photo Ops
Countless possibilities for articles, stories, and photo essays await you on the show floor. The artisans who exhibit at these shows are fascinating people with interesting life stories, who design and handcraft extraordinary things. Here are just a few examples:

“Winner of Maryland State Arts Council Award” - Individual Artist Visual Arts: Crafts
Arnold d’Epagnier, Mission Evolution
Colesville, MD (301) 384-3201
www.missionevolution.com
February 2009 – Arnold d’Epagnier, furniture maker, is one of 15 recipients of this award & grant in the “crafts” category. There were three (3) judges for this category with “blind judging” of 10 photos from each applicant. Winners must submit a report within 6 months of receiving the award to report on how the grant assisted their artistic endeavors. Furniture is placed in the Visual Arts: Crafts category. Other categories this year included the following: Choreography; Music: Classical, Non-classical, World; Playwriting; Poetry; Visual arts Photography, Sculpture. Next year different categories are awarded. The mission of MSAC is to encourage and invest in the advancement of the arts for the people of our State. The goals of the Council are to support artists and arts organizations in their pursuit of artistic excellence, to ensure the accessibility of the arts to all citizens, and to promote statewide awareness of arts resources and opportunities. The Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Awards are grants awarded to Maryland artists through an anonymous, competitive process to encourage and sustain their pursuit of artistic excellence. The MSAC Individual Artist Awards Program is administered by the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation. Arnold’s work will be on display and for sale at the new Baltimore Fine Furnishings & Fine Craft Show, May 2 & 3, 2009. A detail of his work is the featured photo in this year’s Attendee Brochure for the show.

“Pinball Wizard & Maker of Handcrafted Furniture for the Obamas”
Michael Maxwell, M.T. Maxwell Furniture Company
Bedford, VA (540) 587-9543
www.maxwellfurniture.com
Along with his award winning M1 line, Michael Maxwell creates high end conversational furniture pieces using discarded antique electromechanical games. The 1960’s and 70’s era electromechanical pinball games and playfields inspired Maxwell to create his current colorful and most unique line of furniture. The playfield images are vast and varied which allows every piece of furniture to be unique and custom. While still living in Chicago, Michael Maxwell crafted a bedroom suite from his award winning M1 Line for President Barack Obama and wife, Michelle. It is an honor to recognize that the clean straightforward lines and unfailing craftsmanship that Maxwell makes by hand is shared with the newly elected President and his family. Maxwell will have both lines of his work on display and for sale at the new Baltimore Fine Furnishings & Fine Craft Show, May 2 & 3, 2009. He will have the first display at the entrance of the show.

“From Tree to Table – He Selects, Cuts, Mills, Designs, & Handcrafts Each Piece”
David Stine, David Stine Woodworking
Dow, IL & Washington DC (618) 954-8636
www.stinewoodworking.com
Former DC lawyer David Stine is a talented furniture maker who does it all from carefully selecting and cutting down his own trees, milling his own boards, and designing and handcrafting each one-of-a-kind piece of furniture. Many of Stine’s natural and organic furniture pieces feature live-edge boards that enhance a wide range of home decor. In addition David Stine runs his vehicles on used vegetable oil. David and wife Stephanie Abbajay live in Illinois but consider Washington DC/Baltimore their home where David started Stine Woodworking and where Stephanie owns the Toledo Lounge in Adams Morgan. www.stephanieabbajay.com David Stine will show and sell his work at all three Fine Furnishings & Fine Craft Shows this year including the new Baltimore show, May 2 & 3 2009, the Milwaukee Fine Furnishings & Fine Craft Show, September 26 & 27, 2009 and also at the Providence Fine Furnishings & Fine Craft Show, October 23-25, 2009.

“Indie Artist Selected For Special AltCraft Section of Show”
Linda Johnson, Little Flower Designs
Abington, PA 215-939-4923
www.littleflowerdesigns.com
Ceramic artist Linda Johnson was selected by the American Craft Council to participate in the AltCraft section at its flagship show, the American Craft Council Show in Baltimore (February). Seventeen Artists were selected from hundreds of applicants through a rigorous jury process. They presented their work together on the show floor. “The Council is pleased for these talented artists and “Indie” designers to be a part of this well-established event,” said Andrew Glasgow, executive director of the American Craft Council. “These makers illustrate the innovative techniques and materials of the burgeoning new handmade craft movement and, as the leading voice in contemporary craft, we recognize and celebrate these individuals.” Johnson will have her line of work on display and for sale at the new Baltimore Fine Furnishings & Fine Craft Show, May 2 & 3, 2009.

“Furniture Created from Music”
Nathan Hunter, Nathan Hunter Design
Bloomington, IN (812) 876-0677
www.nathanhunterdesign.com
Prior to becoming an innovator of handmade furniture design, Nathan Hunter had a career as a classical musician. Nathan studied piano performance at the Indiana University School of Music and gave numerous concerts as a solo performer and with orchestras. After transitioning into the visual arts Nathan started a business in fine furniture making and design. Today his work can be seen in galleries in locations across the country. “My sense of design, proportion and line is built on the foundation of my musical background. I have never been able to separate my musical tendencies from the way I think about furniture and this has brought a unique balance to my work.” Nathan still practices regularly on his Steinway and hopes to perform again. “The furniture business still needs my constant attention but I am looking forward to a time when I will have more time to devote to preparing for a program at the piano.” Hunter will have his line of furniture on display and for sale at the new Baltimore Fine Furnishings & Fine Craft Show, May 2 & 3, 2009 and also at the Providence Fine Furnishings & Fine Craft Show, October 23-25, 2009.

“Inspired By His Connection to Nature & Clients”
John Sterling, John C. Sterling Fine Furniture
Millmont, PA (570) 922-1608
www.jcsterling.com
Sterling’s furniture creates an oasis of peace within the home with natural edge wood furniture, specifically his Shibui Line ("unadorned elegance"). “In this day and age we are all seeking to find a balance. The world gets faster and faster, but our souls long for peace and connections. According to feng-shui philosophy, wood is the element that is most refreshing and adaptable for your home. By surrounding yourself with hand-crafted wood furniture, you ground yourself to nature. With that connection, you will make your home or office a sanctuary of peace and that will have excellent implications in all aspects of your life and interactions between your family and guests.” John making connections with the people he purchases from and feels that supporting small business & buying local is his responsibility to help create a sustainable world. “When you commission us to design and build a piece of furniture, you are making a connection that doesn’t end when the piece is delivered. You will never look at that piece of furniture without thinking about the wood it is made of, the man who built it, and the families (of the sawyer and builder) that made it possible and who you in turn are supporting. When we are more connected to purchases we make, we become responsible citizens of this world. These are the clients we seek.” John and his wife Elizabeth draws their inspiration from the experience with their son's illness and death which helped them become compassionate about others experiencing a similar crisis. This led to the Blue Butterfly Fund www.bluebutterflyfund.org which helped them learn how to go after their dreams...their furniture business. John will have his line of furniture on display and for sale at the new Baltimore Fine Furnishings & Fine Craft Show, May 2 & 3, 2009 and also at the Providence Fine Furnishings & Fine Craft Show, October 23-25, 2009.

“Furniture Maker Invited to Teach All Across America”
Michael Doerr, Doerr Woodworking
Sturgeon Falls, WI (920) 743-5631
www.michaeldoerr.com
Michael Doerr is not only an accomplished furniture maker but he is also in demand for teaching his craft. He has taught both short and long-term classes at schools across America including the Penland School of Craft in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, the Arrowmont School of Arts and Craft in Gatlinburg, TN, the Connecticut Valley School of Woodworking in Manchester, CT and The Clearing School of Arts in Ellison Bay, WI. “The chairs and tables of Michael Doerr are exquisitely crafted and well designed pieces of hand made furniture. I have known Michael for a number of years and have watched his progress and growth as a sensitive craftsman/woodworker. He has created a line of furniture that is both functional and beautifully unique. Michael uses the finest hardwoods and pays strict attention to detail in his work. His style utilizes a sharply sculpted curving line that follows the form of his furniture. This line, combined with softly contoured surfaces, makes his chairs not only beautiful to look at but also very comfortable. Michael Doerr has achieved the illusive marriage of form and function which is so important in high end, hand built furniture" stated Wayne Francis Director, DeVos Art Museum - Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan. Michael will have his line of furniture on display and for sale at the new Baltimore Fine Furnishings & Fine Craft Show, May 2 & 3, 2009 and also at the Milwaukee Fine Furnishings & Fine Craft Show, September 26 & 27, 2009.

“Machines On Wheels Allows For Large Furniture From A Small Studio”
Corwin Butterworth, Corwin Butterworth Custom Furniture
Wakefield, RI (401) 440-2798
www.corwinbutterworth.com
Corwin works out of a converted 2 car garage and has learned how to make large pieces in his small space - he put all his machines on wheels! Corwin is a talented artist in several mediums – primarily a furniture maker but is also a painter. He won a Best of Rhode Island Award in 2008 for Handmade Furniture from Rhode Island Monthly Magazine. He is currently working on 5 large commissions. Butterworth will have his line of furniture on display and for sale at the new Baltimore Fine Furnishings & Fine Craft Show, May 2 & 3, 2009 and also at the Providence Fine Furnishings & Fine Craft Show, October 23-25, 2009.

“Photograher Sea Kayaked In Greenland & Volunteers For Watershed Council”
Bruce Hooke, B.G. Hooke Studio
Providence, RI (401) 351-5747
www.bghooke.com
Traveling by sea kayak while photographing the coast of Greenland gave photographer Bruce Hooke a close-up view of one of the most amazing landscapes in the world and a place few people get to see in person. Hooke feels very fortunate that he was able to travel to Greenland and bring back photographs to share with the world. As a volunteer for the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council, which works to protect and restore a river that starts in rural northern Rhode Island and ends in downtown Providence, he has come to see that nature is all around us, even in the middle of the city. Bruce has made photographs in urban areas that look like they are miles from the city. “Nature can be found everywhere, not just in the places we think of it being!” Hooke will have his photographs on display and for sale at the new Baltimore Fine Furnishings & Fine Craft Show, May 2 & 3, 2009 and also at the Providence Fine Furnishings & Fine Craft Show, October 23-25, 2009.

Our recent press releases (links above) have even more story ideas, please check them out! We are always happy to provide whatever support materials you desire. If you don’t find exactly what you need on this website, we will do our best to obtain it for you.

We hope you will attend one or both shows this year. To experience all these exhibitors’ work under one roof is a potent experience.

Sincerely,
Karla Little

To obtain your Press Pass or additional information, please contact:
Karla Little, Show Manager
p: 401-816-0963
e: klittle@finefurnishingsshow.com