Thomas Hucker: Craftsmanship At Its Best

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The Comb Table, seen here from above, is crafted of purpleheart wood. As functional as it is artistic, it is a study of structure and translucency. | Photo by James Fraser
A statement of contrasts, this folding screen is created of Swiss pear and yew wood, with branches of both natural wood and bronze forming the sculptural upper half. Photo by Dean Powell
A statement of contrasts, this folding screen is created of Swiss pear and yew wood, with branches of both natural wood and bronze forming the sculptural upper half. | Photo by Dean Powell

A foodie will tell you there’s a delicious difference between a five-star meal and a grab ‘n’ go lunch from the local diner. A fashionista will sing the praises of “haute couture” over garments plucked from the rack. And aficionados of fine furniture most certainly will compare the manifold glories of custom craftsmanship to the oft-times unremarkable work seen today.

FURNITURE
Intricately simple, this walnut rocker features a sloping seat that becomes one with the chair’s rear legs, allowing the curved arms to flow uninterrupted. | Photo by River Clark

One name synonymous with genuine, authentically best-of-the-best American craftsmanship is Thomas Hucker. A master woodworker, he is as unique as the furniture and accessories he has been creating since the mid-1970s. “I think of myself as a musician,” says the New Jersey-based designer. He explains how, for example, his favorite jazzmen Miles Davis and John Coltrane knew their material so well and had such a high skill level that it gave them the freedom to interpret the music as required.

Hucker sees his job similarly, listening to his clients’ needs and concerns, and then “going under the surface, figuring out what they are driving at, interpreting the theme they set and then producing it with the highest skill level possible,” all the while exploring volume, line and structure and the interaction of light with such materials as ebony, wenge, birch, glass, silk and rice paper. The result is a work of art, and as Hucker says in his humble way, “If you’re making furniture, it’s gotta function correctly.”

Hucker explains his methodology by recalling a client whose directive was “furniture that would provide a peaceful, calm environment, which he thought could be achieved via his favorite Shaker style.” Following an in-depth conversation and on-site visit, Hucker prepared a few drawings of different possibilities, none of them overtly Shaker, but all manifestly imbued with a sense of tranquility. The client was thrilled and immersed himself into the approximately three-month collaboration process – drawings sent back-and-forth, phone calls, visits.

Making this challenging work feasible is a result of not only Hucker’s innate talent, but also his studies that included a stint at Milan’s renowned Domus Academy as a Fulbright Scholar, and an apprenticeship with virtuoso European craftsman Leonard Hilgner.

“People put an enormous amount of trust in me,” the designer says. “Imagine. They are trusting me to create something somewhat nebulous, beautiful, useful, a piece that captures both their inner selves and some of me and my art. It’s a huge responsibility.”

Discussing his recent trip to Paris where Hucker was overwhelmed by the spectacular skill level of such Art Deco greats as Jules Leleu, Pierre Gole and Jean Dunand, led to the question of whether true craftsmanship is a lost art. “While there definitely is a resurgence of ‘makers,’” he explains, “the emphasis today is more on the conceptual, and the work is not at the level it was at its height 100 years ago when it required serious training. The cause unfortunately is the economy. As one high-end craftsman in Paris told me, ‘We’re dying out.’”

However, with exhibits at New York’s Museum of Arts and Design and Cooper Hewitt, Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, as well as art galleries and increasing numbers of private clients, it seems quite certain that future generations will enjoy Hucker’s magnificent work for years to come.

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