One aspect of furniture finishing that has not been fully explained is how to achieve the gently worn, warm and human surfaces that you find on antiques.
Sure, there are lots of people who “age” furniture by thrashing it with heavy chains and burying it in a dung pile. But their furniture looks like crap (at best) and not believable (at worst).
During the last few years, I’ve gotten to know John Porritt, a British chairmaker and antiques restorer who works from a small red shed in upstate New York. Porritt has been at his trade for many decades, and his eye for color and patina is outstanding. I’ve seen many examples of his work, and it is impressive because you cannot tell that any repair or restoration has been done.
For his first book, “The Belligerent Finisher,” Porritt explains all the steps in taking a new chair and transforming it into something that looks like it’s 200 years old. The goal is not to produce fakes, but instead to create a finish that looks correct for pieces built on antique patterns.
His techniques are simple and use (mostly) everyday objects and chemicals – a pot scrubber, a deer antler, vinegar and tea. How you apply these tools – with a wee bit of belligerence – is what’s important.
The book will be lavishly illustrated with color photos. Megan and I spent two long days with Porritt in his shop, documenting every process for the book. We are currently editing the text and working on the page design. If all goes to plan, the book will be available in late summer or early fall.
Both Megan and I were properly amazed at the results Porritt achieved in a short period of time. We think almost anyone with a little patience (and belligerence) will be able to achieve beautiful results.
— Christopher Schwarz
I am so looking forward to this book. Thanks for selecting on other gem to add to the LAP stable of books.
This book sounds amazing!!! Thank you for taking in this book!
I will buy this book twice.
Very, very excited for this!
Will most definitely, be purchasing and looking forward to this book. Thanks Chris. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with everyone. Means alot to some of us.
This is usually top secret stuff. Antique dealers never reveal the names of people like Mr Porritt. Should be nice companion to The Stick Chair Book.
Very exciting. Looking forward to it.
Love the finishes. Love the name. I’d love to know more.
I follow a couple of people who do restoration work, and they are wizards. Porritt seems like one of those.
Love the title. I’ve been anticipating this book ever since you guys profiled Mr. Porritt . I have a seat shape and undercarriage in mind. Should have plenty of time to pull the rest together.
Very cool
I love the look of antiques and Shabby chic. I have been making Pices like that for years. I have my own secrets on how to achieve the look, it will be nice to see new ways to accomplish the look. Keep up the good work.
Honestly, I just love the title. The mental image I get is Donald Duck and Yosemite Sam meet Winterthur.
I’m sure the book will be great, too, but belligerence in general, (when properly executed) is so undervalued sometimes.
What a magnificent surprise! I am really looking forward to this book.
Love books on finishes.
Curious, how long have you been waiting to use “Belligerent” in a book title? I’m guessing it’s been percolating for a while. 😀
I hesitate to be the voice of dissent, however surely a new chair that convincingly looks 200 years old is still a fake, just a very good one? I’ve worked with a lot of old objects, including in museums, and really struggle to be OK with embellished stories attached to new things. Good furniture will do fine with just time added, and then it tells your story, or that of your house, family etc.
A finish is a finish. If you like a certain look, I see no problem with making a new chair look 200 years old. I only consider it a “fake” if you try to pass it off as old — especially for profit.
I agree that a fake is not a fake until you try to pass it off as something it is not. There is, I believe, a whole shelf-full of cans of worms available on this and related subjects, like how do you prevent someone else from passing your work off as what it is not, and whether or not repairs and restorations should or should not be detectable, at least to the expert eye? But making it look old does not in se turn it into a fake.
John Porritt is clearly enormously skilled in all aspects of the matter, and I find his work admirable on so many levels, so I will not only be sure to buy the book when it comes out, but already look forward to reading it!
That said, for my part I thoroughly disagree with what (at least according to this blog post) seems to be a basic tenet behind the upcoming book, namely the idea of creating “a finish that looks correct for pieces built on antique patterns” by patinating them to look as old as the pattern. That is not how they looked when they were new. Keen as I am to learn about how it can be done to the level that John Porritt does it, my druthers will always be for the piece to look new when it is new, and to let the passing of 200 years add the 200-year old look, one greasy touch of a hand at a time. I won’t be around then, but that’s OK.
(Also, it does not always take 200 years. In 2001, I had a Selmer-style guitar built for me by a luthier, Maurice Dupont in Cognac in France, and on putting in the order was asked if I wanted the varnish on the spruce top dyed to make it look darker and older than a new guitar. I refused (for the above reasons), and so got a guitar with a brilliantly white top that screamed “built yesterday”. Today, 21 years later, that top has mellowed to a gorgeous rich and deep gold colour, thanks to UV light and the passage of time.)
Of course there is no “correct” (in the sense as above) finish, one way or the other, except in the beholder’s eye. If you like it, great! If you don’t, well, just don’t do it. I won’t. But I want to know more about it, and so, as already said, eagerly await the book!
Cheers,
Mattias
I checked the date; not April 1st yet. Hmm. Well okay, belligerent it is.
I’ve repaired many antiques, including those where I have needed to make new parts. I’ve always struggled with matching the patina of the older parts. Often I do pretty well, other times it is a struggle. I look forward for reading his techniques.
I’ve repaired many antiques, including those where I have needed to make new parts. I’ve always struggled with matching the patina of the older parts. Often I do very well, other times it is a struggle. I look forward for reading his techniques.