Woodworking has been my passion for my entire life. I have created pieces both as gifts and for commission for friends and family for over 30 years. So with the merging of career changes and prodding from family, I established JMF Custom Creations.

Nearly all of the pieces I have built over the years are unique. I typically don't use detailed plans but may work from simple sketches. I find this provides me the flexibility to move and create depending on what the wood has to offer. Also, I don't make replicas of period pieces but instead may use a hint of a time period or where the wood may have come from. An example is the dinning room table made from wormy chestnut reclaimed from a barn in Western Pennsylvania. The table top was designed to resemble a barn door.

Functional Art

End Table created with leopard wood framed by wenge inlayed into walnut

My overall goal is to produce a piece that is not only functional but pleasing to the eye. I want the piece to draw you in so you to want to touch and handle it. My work is designed to be used every day, but, of course, you may just want to place it somewhere just to look at it.

The end table made from leopard wood, wenge, and walnut provides a visual experience but is built to use and last a life time. Framing the leopard wood with wenge creates a picture you want to keeping viewing.

Designing and building unique items is my norm but there are exceptions such as the food preparation and cheese board. I may make several boards of the same wood pattern at one time. But even with this, I may use a different wood as the boarder of a board. I used zebra wood for the end pieces for the cheese board pictured here.

Cheese Board created with Hard Maple, Purple Heart, Canary Wood, Wenge, Blood Wood, and Zebra Wood