"Snowflakes Blanket Chest"

Andrew Pitts

"In my furniture I strive for graceful functionality while maintaining the integrity of fine craftsmanship. The result of my work is not simply a piece of furniture, but the physical embodiment of a very personal experience."

Furniture artist Andrew Pitts feels a deep passion for wood as a material and assumes a personal responsibility to craft it into furniture respectful of the finest sensibilities. An observer wrote, "One can recognize an Andrew Pitts design by the grace of its curves, exquisitely matched grain patterns, exacting joinery, and meticulous finishing."

A committed steward of the environment, he uses pre-fallen or dying trees, harvesting, milling and drying them himself. His design approach is to celebrate the wood's inherent beauty, respecting its colors, imperfections and variations. Pitts uses sweeping curves in much of his work, bent laminating hardwoods to make graceful legs and panels, carving designs into the work whenever he can.

Andrew Pitts is mostly self-taught with 35 years experience. His prior career in the navy as a nuclear engineer prepared him, as the discipline to command warships and operate nuclear reactors translated into an astute attention to detail and pursuit of perfection. He has had opportunities to take workshops with masters such as wood carver Chris Pye and furniture designer/maker Michael Fortune.