Kyle Marlin - Craftsman

Juried Exhibits: Texas Furniture Makers Show - Kerrville, Texas

There are many people in my family who were and currently are creative artists and craft practitioners. My great grandfather, an immigrate to the United States from Germany, supported his family as a master carpenter/joiner specializing in staircase construction. My father was an accomplished wood carver and my sister is a highly skilled art quilter and bead artist. Innovation, design, craftsmanship, and making beautiful objects are an integral part of who I am.

A career spanning several decades of furniture making started out of necessity. As a college student at the University of Illinois, working for a general contractor as a carpenter, my wife Donna and I had a small apartment with few furnishings. As a carpenter, I owned basic woodworking tools and could get scrap wood from job sites. This combination led to my initial furniture projects including a dining table, chairs, stereo cabinet, night tables, bookcase, and coffee table - you get the picture. I made home furniture items for family, friends, and a few paying customers. Whenever I made some money on these projects it went right back into the purchase of more tools and higher quality hardwoods .

Over the years I developed skills in design and furniture construction through study of accomplished historical and contemporary furniture makers, consultation with colleagues, reading relevant books and magazine articles, learning from mistakes, and constantly expanding my production capabilities and project complexity.