Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Monday, June 1, 2009
Canadian Fine Furniture by mlh (a few examples)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKR3Tt9gVkoQQNOj6jUqUPSuI_G-Zbd9RIgYWXPt6suCDrdTnCVLnCFBpKmy8ZZyDg0MKA3PUtgxW1rFy5PQxTUFo3C6vGs44F9iaAqgJgeM7PxGNkxHIOco6uJkuD4LVm6QkAIfi5f2I/s320/Soucek+King+Book.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0BrmH6bJHh5pBP05Nl7ST-GJwjD5Ph0QxbvjkJRtiQY22ac_ojRDb_hhpOzNhvUOXkNAPjp91bv1lOeuQ_4m1zocrQj_-5dHrlvUkbFQDx00ZyhcKUFGTmIxiuu10USOr7yDjqu2D8kU/s320/IMG_0013.jpg)
The following image was one of my first forays into 'decoratively painted' furniture ... a Canadian goose on the back panel hovering over a 'nest of eggs'... Last heard, this piece is now in a collection in Portland, Oregan.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuDstGVNhyphenhyphenkCYeXmCmpVtce5jmkIosCr4kRMqR5vVVe9yceh3jxKKiv3IXQuXh-_tO8A3UTPu7Z31kMwyXG2LbnX4Idqga3n2c_sCHpd7pH3cwTaZih9TOR1AV6zDgnGEpcVrKUIekkW0/s320/mlhfurn1.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZNqCtlxwsLoraKytsx75WjTJ2TTRd8XuEIA5d7uZKSVZ-DChbVp-5_Hh5TmCPfXPpNtYWZbu2_x4KuAUNJhaJMkWA6MaOz7WwZuoar0HCYk9T2sRle5_NCHQNZ3NklCvIUkHD3_R5Smo/s320/mlhfurn2.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimacNRtQg7k_uNtmc4FvqruuvHGIYR5h19Si655Rmh-w_I5CzOoa5ll0C223yx12FnsknSPfkc_-mZlVgBJOFApjDr_OC2s3lTInOieA5ky5mekFm-m8aPbplk3tLlKlvHFXeX4bmmBj0/s320/mlhfurn3.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZJh4lxI1LNtPxrp-ijKHQApois6LXp76vgvj5wXL5si4oA44ygvCSIX53y5isQ51PcDwkAhhmG-TmopF5Kug5cV1rRXOTQruPKj12-vz7NR1giQ_OznywHmYnXhgj0U8VNHPB8UI7xCk/s320/mlhfurn5.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiffO3cG9Mml-dGF7UQvc0DJIKH2VPYl0hU8TNiWFI7zEzvi12nNpdZHhoGf1Th8rVAyceSaBftrT2olB8yfIUi3-78Ux7yHtPiFpLuUWDhv1KbuLKfQp9jlg8QnVoBzKVk9fHGe7FA5Ok/s320/mlhfurn7.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE71INsnwCkw0jeE5GgZDNKOdE4UOvArNobT5bzbjYziAPD19wcUvjUlBr2xV2Wk16pVMMjoHGV9jvMUa5puZkpt8Fn0aYEnxymnVcpHnZqWj_n74Y5ADCRXS7VodtfwGVCyqnQmZsOzQ/s320/mlhfurn8.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnH6aG_CwPzlc-HnNR0OYAQsduADixc0Q4IdzHTThLjb-JjVgDWrq37ZLlYtI7ZPHKi1uyoS_rYnSNBY_-_y89ssncrFjJ6g-KhEtasicINMQd01gotVJFIIyokSaFO_Saup3z3nNOj1w/s320/mlhfurn9.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBIOUKNYEK48_1v-ec0MzfFMkRZVKJ2cnLIzWrzqmAR3xucKdC1QmKSViypTpzoHmycH-Dfq95u3T8ghGKIdlsBx8yuFg6SpWRFcvx6wLSRfVz8uIYXC0JKyokyfHbAtaqfjN6KNF-S6Y/s320/mlhfurn10.jpg)
Next up, I had the opportunity to do some speculative work for a gallery show. What follows is the 'Wolf Settee Courting Bench'. A kind of whimsical piece, it sort of epitomizes to me, the EARLY stages of romance where 'space' is kind of critical to romantic evolution ... (The settee is 7 feet long ... ). The bracing beneath the seat is extensive and intricately turned. Beautiful Honduras mahogany, turns like butter ...
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgahu-YN_MQsVZECc2P21wodLmBfbI_40V5Lm-47h29OhM7X2XUGZze-fVrIr_BrZmPGCZklPJi7keZgFXWMDkFJX5hLEmsHI2bUj_0fqYE6SYdVUmW2duYWI9rYSMgFUkwlf4FY8H5tN8/s320/mlhfurn11.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeqfRowmrep06IYYmBwAt4ep2PZLoCuYrAvnDjlQnvoOqtyBmFPJ9HtnHWCQODdlk_QCfkLDwX4xd9YJfVIjuh2nh_89CuQ6LT_opwpHzaxKORHxMs7yOtdaTxWGCy86tA7UqzIyF1K-I/s320/mlhfurn13.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6-Ogj9c13t0ivIXp8zOBB7GtTyBMWpA5ZT32TCgobs999VwwXEP5dKNbixvvYar6FeDztfwi8beXmLAU0gBgm5_BxAjMwcFZqe70A0rIApx5-_ZOOPFClEnOsMdDwHeCCeNVTUb07iGY/s320/mlhfurn14.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAMLjaSPvbAMU0gc62pfysXNVkYYbxw_FRFEsmXD3JZmDBY4dyB394bw-n6naknmx-cRFGkIxQUS2Bi4Vxr2ViHn67R-ETdsEPlCVxVpd3u5XsKNlfwEJIA1YBRBeICms2UWLLVuKgjyk/s320/mlhfurn15.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1tQ9-KOpMv0fV5HESl2G4PKL7MM6YSjJ14bX74M7P3_AmtS3XQQU9PlKf_dbQ2WKRpyRcbDptebjLgAAs0Ul09A3U2GJqC7Gh1Hgaq_QPr2E-XPxBhPBKbsfn18ZFNcxR3DqsMVoYPpM/s320/mlhfurn16.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjipfXjWamVJvd5Q529ARewQj9StudBTqfMsueH9-qFBh3AEjARMf44rb6bVrumqX2r7BgAUBVsCkdPQBlslKCnSXTEtnTlytSBSM_GBz_NyuwwZjeHtRK27X2FcGzQ8hkYi_9m8b7KsTw/s320/mlhfurn17.jpg)
Spanning a 15 year period, from 1984 to 2000, I think I produced near 300 items. It was wonderful time, and I don't regret one bit of it. Though, truth be told, it is not a very efficient way to 'make a living'... especially at the level I was producing things ... Fun stuff though and feels like another era now. I do retain drawings of items I would LIKE to make ... like the Nunavut Sideboard, and the Caribou dining table ... but, sigh, I guess those exquisite items will just have to WAIT ...
I may add more items to this list as I find other photos ...
And, for the record, I LEARNED about the fundamentals of FINE wood-working from my late father, Luther Janna Holton. I apprenticed with him. And then, went out on my own ...
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRleTGDZGp3lb4eow6wAHag79_49c1b38yoxvT0CghIjjjCK0QRdcH7q1G6VcVRNZFzX58N_wftOl5AxASrH_14nXwjVC7D0mHMUFFFw5BG0Kk_LX-DdxSXoEruWZ3-fou1ohLiY7VY6o/s320/Dropfront+%26+Louis+IV.jpg)
.... just found this above image taken at the Carnegie Gallery: me - plus some of dad's work including a very attractive mahogany drop-front desk replete with 'secret compartments', a true-to-form 'Chippendale' mirror with gilding highlights, & a Louis XIV style chair designed & made for 'larger North Americans' by my late father ... Luther Janna Holton, the second ...
.... Photo supplied by Willa W., in 2015. Taken sometime in the early 2000's. MLH perched on her 'Stargazer Garden Bench', designed and licensed to Canadian manufacturer in mid 1990s. Made in the Philippines, of iroko wood, a dense water-resistant hardwood that changes to a warm gray over time ... Sold throughout North America. A popular item.
UPDATE: January 2017 - Well this is kind of fun. Was roaming around the net and stumbled on the desk & credenza that I designed for Kaufman Furniture of Collingwood, Canada, the 'Signature Series', several decades ago. It was selling on an obscure 'estate liquidation' site. Both sold for the grand sum of $630. Ouch, hurts, (after 43 bids, starting at $1!) - (What a STEAL!!! Seriously!) - Still, very interesting to view the images - and to remember that job. I used mahogany vaneer on solid maple, with 'shaker-style' ebony pulls. Kaufman did a good job crafting my design. It still looks pretty good: contemporary and kind of timeless ... if I say so myself.
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Desk & Credenza, Designed by M.L.Holton. Built by Kaufman of Collingwood, Canada. |
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Details from Desk & Credenza designed by Margaret Lindsay.Holton, Canada |
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Substantiating paperwork, including 'Certificate of Authenticity', promo sample and letter from Prez of Kaufman. (Website for that sale - Everything But the House - estate liquidators ) |
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Dad's promo, designed by yours truly :) |
Dive deeper into Canadian decorative arts and design via my second novel, The Gilded Beaver by Anonymous, re-released in 2020 to now include the author's true identity, me. This ebook Second Edition explains why the secrecy between designer & client, and includes a factual and fun discourse on the trials and tribulations of 'making something of value' for someone else ...
Get it here > https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B089T7QJ5B/
'The Gilded Beaver by Anonymous'
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-wZotnZXegvs_q0aMIrDqEu3FCWrw6U6ygF-CeMwv7MSiOnzUfS2v_e81kRgc91U896cFdnRlaFst-K3PCXemadPGkXdqytHaH1sgg9k3jiVsgi7i0RWNwjb-UjHsOkH-Ew1M5_9xdSo/s200/IMG_5085.jpg)
Winner of the Hamilton Arts Council 'Best Fiction Award' in 1999, beating out other entries from Random House Canada, M&S, and Knopf Canada ...
‘THE GILDED BEAVER BY ANONYMOUS'
Critical Reviews:
" ... mystery surrounds this erotically charged novel ... the ABC's of Canadian fine furniture design and production ... " Ottawa Citizen
" ... like good wine - rich, complex, pleasingly acerbic ... a dance of intellect & eros that expertly unfolds ... and closes with panache..." - Jim Bartley, Globe & Mail, Toronto
"... a psycho-sexual tug of war in the world of design" - Spring Book Review, Globe & Mail, Toronto
"... Novels about the relationship between two brothers, mothers and sons, husbands and wives, or fathers and daughters are common. But the relationship between a fine furniture designer and an imperious client can be just as fraught with tension, drama, comedy, incomprehension and hurt as any family relationship, and this novel proves it. ... Why the 'anonymity'? Because, quotes the author, 'This is a true story'..." - Toronto Star
ONLY 800 Numbered Copies printed in 1999 Collectors First Edition
'THE GILDED BEAVER BY ANONYMOUS'
ISBN: 0-96919362-2-6 Page Count: 218, soft cover
LIST: $79.95
(NOW SELLING, 10 years later via antiquarian book dealers @ $125!)
Send Int'l Money Order, including $10 for Shipping & Handling, to:
'The Gilded Beaver'
ACORN PRESS CANADA
17 Main Street, P.O. Box 1425
Waterdown, Ontario, Canada
L0R 2H0
(Please allow 2 weeks for delivery -
FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED.
As of April, 2015 - Only 87 copies left! )
'THE GILDED BEAVER BY ANONYMOUS'
ISBN: 0-96919362-2-6 Page Count: 218, soft cover
LIST: $79.95
(NOW SELLING, 10 years later via antiquarian book dealers @ $125!)
Send Int'l Money Order, including $10 for Shipping & Handling, to:
'The Gilded Beaver'
ACORN PRESS CANADA
17 Main Street, P.O. Box 1425
Waterdown, Ontario, Canada
L0R 2H0
(Please allow 2 weeks for delivery -
FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED.
As of April, 2015 - Only 87 copies left! )
I'm in a 'Georgian Bay' kinda MOOD ...
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