Matthew O'Brien's Phenomenal Handbuilt Chairs

On Sunday at Flocking Swans Mercantile in the giant barn, I sat in the most comfortable chair I had ever felt. This one, with the Lum Farm sheepskin on it…

Someone had suggested earlier that morning that I visit Matthew O’Brien’s furniture at the barn shindig. I feel drawn to spread the word after sitting in that chair!

This is Matthew, and what a nice, genuine, down-to-earth human being he is.

You may know his wife, Allison, from the public school.

I visited Matthew’s website and Instagram photos to bring you more information in case you’d like to know more about him and make an order (we don’t know each other and he has not put me up to this, so I hope I’m not embarrassing you, Matthew!)…

I live on Orcas Island in Washington state with my wife and daughter. I am a furniture maker that builds functional art from trees. Each piece is built by me in my small island studio one piece at a time. I’m fortunate to have a shop surrounded by madrona, fir and cedar trees. Each chair, bench or cabinet that leaves the studio is built with intention and respect.

Living in a small island community I’ve realized the importance of shopping small and supporting local business. This season please consider finding a small business to support in your local community. It makes a powerful difference and it much more fun than ordering online. 😀

Being surrounded by the creative and welcoming community on the island led me to leave the corporate world behind and venture out on my own as a furniture maker. My work focuses on traditional hand tool techniques with solid hardwoods. This approach allows me to build furniture that will last for generations. Excellent furniture, built by hand on Orcas Island.

The comb of this chair comes from a client’s madrona tree that grew next to the one in the window. I love the similar form and tone of the chair and tree. This piece was designed and built with intention and a love of madrona.

This chair is special. The tree that once stood outside now begins a new chapter indoors.

The form of this chair includes curved back sticks that taper to the comb. Though not as severe as traditional Welsh lobster-pot style chairs, the sweep captures the natural curves and bows of the madrona tree nicely. Hickory sticks and tenons were shaped by hand with spokeshave and plane. The one-piece madrona seat was carved with a traditional scorp, travisher and scraper. Like all my other chairs this is finished with a shop made recipe of linseed & beeswax courtesy of @lostartpress. The chair was an 18-month process from start to finish.

The seat, armbow and comb of this chair (below) are all Pacific Madrone. Legs, sticks, wedges are Hickory. For this specific project I chose to highlight the tension and drama of the single piece madrona seat.

The depth of this seat is the width of this tree’s trunk. The armbow was meticulously crafted from the same board. The arms were resawn and book-matched before joining. The comb is the last detail, designed as the chair comes together. Its proportions borrowed from the armbow. For strength and flexibility, I selected hickory for the stick components of the chair. The challenge of this project was to select materials that would highlight the madrona yet still make it strong enough to last for generations. Together these species add a visual contrast while also letting each species do what it does best, madrona for drama and hickory for strength. Heirloom chairs designed and built on Orcas Island.

(Below) Northern Red Oak finished with light blue milk paint. This is a variation of an Irish style stick chair originally based off a design by Chris Schwarz.

This chair is a hybrid build. Machines were used for milling and rough shaping. A cordless drill was used for mortises. Details and finish surfaces prepped with planes, rasps, spoke shaves and scrappers. The farmhouse-style blue milk paint is gorgeous up close! Thank you to the great clients that added this chair to their home:)

Here is a gallery of images from Matthew’s Instagram: