by Julian Hamer

During the Victorian era there was a certain lack of originality in furniture design whereby old styles were forever being remade or there was a mix-up of different elements from past designs.

It was as if the ceiling had been reached in furniture design and nothing new was happening.

Art Nouveau emerged in the late 19th century with its peculiar and unique organic lavishness. I am inspired by Art Nouveau but I find many of the furniture pieces to be ponderous and over-the-top. In my own work that is a modern departure from Art Nouveau I have striven towards several rules of thumb.

The first aspect is that all design activity shall compliment the entire composition. This is a pretty simple premise really. In nature all aspects of any plant or animal correspond with the whole. So in furniture every aspect also has to correspond with the entire design. Therefore the legs of a table pick up the design detail of the apron and shape of the tabletop so that everything belongs properly to the piece. This is also true of the choice of woods (do the woods compliment each other?) and the wood grain, the hardware and even perhaps the type of finish.

Every aspect of the piece has to belong and be an appropriate expression of the entire composition.

In my designs I have tried to be as minimalist as possible. There is no extemporaneous detail. I try to avoid the "busy-ness" and the excess of detail typical of some art nouveau pieces. This is so that the expression of the piece is intrinsic throughout the design and all details appropriately compliment that expression.

... great works of art are brought forth according to true and natural laws ... Goethe