Maker of the Week - Earl Kelly - News

After starting work at a local furniture store in 1971, furniture maker Earl Kelly realised that furniture could be more than a container in which to place your clothes, or a comfortable chair to sit on while reading a book. "Furniture can become even more than a treasured family heirloom and a joy to possess and look at, drawing out your memories associated with the happiness it has brought to your life," he says.

Earl has always had a desire to design and create things: "I guess when you're young you don't recognise this in the same way as you do later in life. For instance, at age 18 while building a couple of custom surfboards, I didn't realise my ability to design; it was just something I wanted to do."

Earl started his own business refinishing and repairing furniture in 1982 up to the point of building custom furniture beginning in 1986. Today, he works not only on commissioned pieces, but also has works for galleries and furniture shows. "All of these experiences became building blocks, necessary steps to develop my "style" if you will," he comments.

According to Earl, like most objects in and around our life, we are the sum of our parts. This can be found in everything, no single step or part is isolated on its own. Each piece of wood, each joint affects the others around it and contributes to the whole equation. "Just as what you do affects others around you, so it does with me." Earl believes that what he has developed and has done in the past has become a part of who he is today. He hopes that his furniture will become part of people's life and a small building block to people's futures.

Contact details:

Email: info@earlkelly.com

Website

You can also follow Earl on

Images, from top to bottom:

1. 'Africa,' macassar ebony, recomposed herringbone pattern veneer and wenge. 510mm (20in) wide x 405mm (16in) deep x 1270mm (50in) tall

2. ‘Giselle,’ lacewood with wenge legs and accents.

The shape and colour of the legs create interest in an otherwise simple design. 1525mm (60in) wide x 760mm (30in) deep x 760mm (30in) tall

3. 'Kansas,' crimson dyed mahogany, grey dyed birds eye maple and a manmade recomposed black/white veneer, 510mm (20in) wide x 405mm (16in) deep x 1270mm (50in) tall

4. 'Midnight Sky Arrival,' wenge, dyed walnut (Legs) and blue dyed birds eye maple. The shape of the tabletop is based on a ladybird spreading its wings, 1245mm (49in) wide x 430mm (17in) deep x 815mm (32in) tall

5. 'Victoria,' bees wing eucalyptus with cast aluminum legs. The desk was designed around the legs using a wood that complemented the aluminum and helped to create a campaign/safari look. 1,829mm (72in) wide x 760mm (30in) deep x 760mm (30in) tall

6. 'Bedside Table,' Karelian birch, maple and walnut. This is one of a pair of bedside tables, 560mm (22in) wide x 480mm (18in) deep x 660mm (26in) tall

7. 'King Wood Leaf,' kingwood, maple and wenge, accents A fully shaped and sculpted table based on a stylised banana leaf, 1295mm (51in) wide x 430mm (17in) deep x 785mm (31in) tall

8. 'Xoddics - A Series' (pronounced 'exotics'), waterfall bubinga, birdseye maple, maple and wenge trim and accents, 405mm (16in) wide x 405mm (16in) deep x 24in tall

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