Kevin Rodel is arguably the dean of modern Arts & Crafts furniture makers. Not only has he been building furniture in that mode for more than 40 years, but he’s frequently written for Fine Woodworking magazine, led furniture-making workshops, and co-authored the influential book Arts & Crafts Furniture: from Classic to Contemporary, too.
After serving an apprenticeship of sorts, in the 1970s, with Thos. Moser of Maine, he discovered the Arts & Crafts Movement through contemporary proponents including David Berman of Trustworth Studios and the late John Burrows of J.R. Burrows. “They got me hooked on Arts & Crafts.”
In furniture, it’s a style that lends itself to both personal interpretation and innovation, he says. Early Arts & Crafts furniture makers incorporated other materials: tile, glasswork, leather. Rodel often builds striking tables with glasswork panels in the style of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, dining tables with a double row of tiles running down the center—and, like Greene & Greene, art-glass light fixtures suspended from leather straps.
Rodel is a one-man shop working on a commission-only basis. All wood pieces are built with mortise-and-tenon construction, using hand-cut dovetails and kerf tenons. While he enjoys making pieces with spare lines, he often composes pieces of astounding complexity, like his Prairie desk. Crafted in cherry or quartersawn oak, it features leather inlays and small, windowpane-like accents just under the lip of the top.
The glass-top Ikebana table expresses his interest in Asian design. It incorporates Glasgow School-inspired leaded glass and motifs.
Kevin Rodel, now in his 70s, says he’s booked for the rest of the year. “I’m not pushing myself. I’m also trying to schedule time to work on my own designs.”
KEVIN RODEL
Kevin Rodel Furniture & Design Studio
Brunswick, ME
(207) 837-2833
kevinrodel.com
Mary Ellen Polson is a creative content editor and technical writer with over 20 years experience producing heavily illustrated know how and service journalism articles, full-length books, product copy, tips, Q&As, etc., on home renovation, design, and outdoor spaces.
