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Personal Profile
| Product & Services | Unique
Benefits
Personal Profile Joseph Mendel studied to earn a degree in Industrial Arts Education at Eastern Michigan University and is a graduate from the prestigious Cabinet and Furniture Making program at the North Bennet Street School in Boston, Massachusetts. Joseph Mendel original designs are contemporary interpretations of Federal style furniture, with an emphasis on delicate and graceful design, understated surface decorations and a dedication to superior joinery and craftsmanship.
Product and Services
Unique Benefits
Furniture Philosophy The best American furniture was made prior to 1820, after which time machinery was brought into use. Until the coming of the machine age almost everything had been done by hand. In today’s mainstream reproduction furniture industry, there is too often an attempt to make furniture reproductions using modern techniques to reduce production time. This business model results in less-than-well-constructed furniture without the fine details that can only be produced by the human hand. There is no substitute for a handmade piece of furniture made by a craftsman who understands the century’s proven methodology. Joseph Mendel produces furniture with the use of modern machinery; however, it is the combination of modern technology and the time-tested hand-fit joinery that makes JMF-built furniture superior to mainstream furniture products. He still adheres to the belief that the craft work of highest merit is fashioned by the hands of a master craftsmen guided by historic precedent. The essence of this value is evident in classically invoked designs featuring premium timber, pegged mortise and tenon joints, dovetail joinery, and hand-rubbed finishes. It is the time-honored attention to details that distinguishes Joseph Mendel furniture from the merely ordinary.
Furniture Refinishing and Repair Philosophy
As a skilled cabinet maker, Joseph Mendel allows his personality to show in his making of a new furniture piece. As a restorer he is not afforded such luxuries. Where as a cabinet maker he would quite rightly shudder at the sight of butt and nailed drawers in an antique chest, as a restorer he accepts them as part of the nature of the piece. There are very few companies that will put time over profits to insure that the furniture being refinished does not get structurally damaged. Since the loosening of the damaged joinery is not evident immediately, the client rarely holds the refinisher responsible when joints eventually fail. If the damage to a piece of furniture is so severe, removing an old finish may be needed under such extreme conditions. If the surface cannot be restored with a less invasive touch-up repair, the old finish should be removed by using a judicious amount of chemical in a labor-intensive process that preserves the integrity of the piece. Nearly all commercial refinishers utilize either a tank of chemicals in a vat to submerse furniture, or a flow table where a steady stream of finish stripper is used to douse furniture to remove an old finish. These techniques do irreparable damage to glued joints and veneered surfaces. Joseph Mendel’s first rule of restoration is to do as little as possible in the way of repairs and replacing of parts. Then a step-by-step process is used—starting with moderate techniques and working up the scale to more severe techniques as needed. When faced with a dirty or damaged finish, mild cleaners might be used. If that does not work, he may try to blend the finish back together with a polish-reviving technique. Only if all else fails will stripping be undertaken.
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