By Laura Jean Whitcomb

Beauty rests on utility.
- Shaker Maxim

The work is simple, elegant and high quality. It is the work of Dana Robes Wood Craftsmen, creators of some of the nation’s finest Shaker and Craftsmen style furniture and custom architectural millwork.

Although Shaker and Craftsman styles have different heritages, they share the belief in handcraftmanship. The Shakers, a religious denomination who split off from the English Quakers and immigrated to the New World shortly before the American Revolution, led a self-sufficient existence from the fruits of their land. Their underlying belief in simplicity and utility was apparent in their architecture and crafts and furniture.

Individual craftsmanship is the foundation of the Dana Robes philosophy. “We’re not a factory, we’re a workshop.”

The Craftsman style (also known as “Arts & Crafts” or “Mission”) initially developed in England during the latter half of the 19th century. Unhappy with the rise of manufactured consumer goods and the slipshod work resulting from mass production, the thinkers behind the Craftsman movement believed that the machine dehumanized the worker and led to a loss of dignity because it removed him from the artistic process. But with individual craftsmanship, objects would be created “for the people and by the people, and a source of pleasure to the maker and the user.”

Individual craftsmanship is also the foundation of the Dana Robes philosophy. “We’re not a factory, we’re a workshop,” says Dave Finley, President of Dana Robes Wood Craftsmen.

Dana Robes Wood Craftsmen started handcrafting furniture more than 20 years ago. The company started out in Dana Robes’ garage in Meriden, N.H., and, due to the growing reputation of his work, later moved to a larger workshop in Enfield, N.H. Over the years, the initial product – a classic Shaker night table – has grown into a product line of over 70 furniture pieces, millwork and woodworking woodshops.

Dana Robes will customize any piece in the line, changing the size or the type of wood, to match the clients’ vision. “It’s this nature of our operation that has allowed us to take our capabilities in furniture and successfully apply them to different applications,” he says. Today, Finley estimates that custom millwork accounts for almost 70 percent of the business.

The company has applied its woodworking techniques to a variety of architectural projects, cabinetry, conference tables and millwork. A recent project required handcrafting more than 50 interior and exterior doors for a private residence. Other projects have ranged from wood paneling for a home in Wolfeboro, N.H., to pews for the Methodist Church in Lebanon, N.H., to custom executive furniture for Geographic Data Technology, also in Lebanon. Dana Robes has also done an extensive amount of reception area desks, counters and bookcases for the Greenwich, Conn., public library.

“The custom work we do is virtually unlimited,” says Finley. “We take the designs architects and builders have on plan and bring them to life with the experienced craftsmen we have in the shop.”

Dana Robes’ work does lean towards the Shaker-inspired style, but that’s not all they do. “Some projects are very contemporary and ornate,” says Bob Hagen, Public Relations and Marketing Consultant for Dana Robes. “They may also require the selection of many exotic hardwoods. Dana Robes works with builders and architects to help deliver their designs, whatever they may be.”

Simplicity is the embodiment of purity and unity.
- Shaker Maxim

The clean, smooth lines have no excess adornment; the beauty of the wood is adornment enough. The simplicity of the design hides the fact that a single piece may take weeks, even months, to complete.
Dana Robes employs 17 people, including three master craftsmen with a combined tenure of 50 years. “Our master craftsman comprise the heart and soul of the company,” says Finley.

Hagen agrees. “The way they work is amazing. Each craftsman receives a project – for example, a rocking chair – and builds it from start to finish. It’s not like a chair factory where one person does the rungs and another builds the seat and someone else adds the finish. The craftsmen are involved in all aspects of the project from wood selection to joinery to construction.”

Dana Robes also uses high-quality hardwoods – no laminates, no composites. A hand rubbed finish comprised of equal parts of satin urethane, boiled linseed oil and turpentine highlights the grain. It takes a sharp eye and a fine sense of design to “see” a piece of furniture in a raw slab of cherry, walnut, ash or mahogany.

“The benefits of a well made piece of furniture will be revealed over a longer period of time, whereas the shortcomings of a poorly made piece will be recognized quite quickly,” says Caleb Wood, Master Craftsman.

In addition, every piece of furniture is signed and dated by the craftsman who created it. A short, biographical sketch of the craftsman who creates the piece is issued at the time of purchase, giving the buyer a more personal look at the artisan and making ownership of the piece more meaningful. That is best which works best.
- Shaker Maxim

Although Dana Robes himself is no longer active in the company, it continues in the spirit of its founding: the joy of working with wood. The company even shares its techniques and philosophies with woodworking enthusiasts through a variety of classes.

You don’t have to be an expert to sign up. Beginners with little to no experience can plane, rip, join, miter and bead their way to a mirror or craft a hardwood serving tray with dove-tail joinery. More experienced students – or beginners who have worked their way through evening, multi-day or full week classes – can tackle a 17-inch high coffee table in cherry or hall table with a single drawer.

Hagen signed up for one of these courses and learned to build a dining room table. “A master craftsman is paired with a student, and they each build the exact same piece,” he says. “The instruction is one-on-one, ending with the application of the unmistakable Dana Robes Wood Craftsmen quality finish. The final product is beautiful.”

Finley, who joined Dana Robes almost a year ago, plans to focus the company’s efforts on the building and renovation market. “The long-term stability of this market and our custom capabilities make it the right fit for the company,” he says. “Millwork is something that will always require a high degree of expertise, and Dana Robes is dedicated to creating products of timeless quality with pride.”

Dana Robes Wood Craftsmen has two showrooms, one at the Shaker Village site in Enfield, N.H., where its woodworking studio is also located, and the second in Greenwich, Conn. For more information, call 1-800-722-5036 or log on to www.danarobes.com