This hutch, built of Eastern Canadian birch, is one of Steiner's most prized furniture creations. It stands 7 feet high and 4 feet wide.
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Written by Hanny Green
Since childhood, when he built go-karts and tree houses, John Steiner has had an intense
interest in woodcrafts.
Today, those activities of almost two decades ago
have been refined and expanded into a Bainbridge Island custom-furniture business that has
customers waiting four to five months for "lifetime guaranteed, hand-crafted"
creations.
Steiner established the business five years ago as a
result of "people asking me to build custom furnishings for their homes."
He compares his style with the solid-state
construction of the Shakers, a religious sect that immigrated to the United States in the
late 1700’s.
"They did marvelous things with wood," he
said. "I’ve added a few design improvisions but their sturdy construction is
hard to improve upon."Steiner uses solid wood panels and dovetails and
mortises sections together to fashion long-lasting creations which accent a growing number
of Puget Sound-area homes today.Three of the world’s premier furniture
builders, according to Steiner, practice Shaker-building techniques. They are Sam Maloof
of California, James Krenov of Sweden and George Nakashima of the East Coast (a Seattle
native).
An assortment of woods rosewood, alder, Honduras mahogany, teak, walnut, Western maple, and red oak are utilized.
"Western maple if a real sleeper in this area," he said. "Not only is it
considerably cheaper to purchase, but it has quite an intrinsic beauty."
Steiner harvests a great deal of alder and Western
maple from island sites and purchases most of his lumber from a Tacoma firm.
The most common furnishings Steiner is commissioned
to build are hutches, chest of drawers, coffee tables, beds, dining room sets and end
tables.
"My prices will be higher than what you’ll
find in most furniture stores," he emphasized, "but there aren’t too many
places that will give you a lifetime contract any more."
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