Douglas Bowman Bio
I am a cabinetmaker who has been producing furniture for the past thirty years using modern methods as well as traditional tools of the 18th and 19th century.
The path I have taken has been unconventional as my first interest was not in woodwork but in the use and collection of antique woodworking tools. I became fascinated by what what these tools were used for and more importantly how you used them.
Trips to dealers, auctions, antique and junk shops resulted over the years in a collection of old tools and books.
The greatest challenge was trying to use some of the old wooden planes. Even the older generation of craftsmen were not familiar with them and were unable to help me unravel the mysteries of how to use these tools correctly.
I had to rely on books which were often quite vague and I began to realise that I was going to have to rely on my own experience.
Gradually I learned the skills of the old time cabinetmakers. Much of the time working in my own small workshop with little or no machinery. If I needed a piece of wood for a job I had no option but to plane it up by hand.
I worked on the principal that it was far easier to first learn how to do something by hand and then learn how to do the same thing by machine. Rather than the other way around.
I attended college in my early 20’s and obtained City and Guilds in furniture making and Furniture advanced studies. In 1989 I received the Norwich City College school of Crafts and Technology Furniture craft prize.
I was always drawn to veneer work and my final project for college involved cutting all the mouldings by hand and laying all the veneers with wooden cauls and bearers.
This was hard work and the results not always consistent. So, my first real piece of machinery was an old veneer press.
Almost from the beginning I was attracted to working with veneers and the first piece of equipment I bought for my workshop was an interwood Veneer press. My interest in veneering was to introduce me to my greatest passion marquetry.
My interest in veneer work was to lead me to my greatest interest. Marquetry.
In 2005 I was fortunate to attend the American school of French marquetry and study with master cabinetmaker Patrick Edwards.
In 2014 I returned to California to improve my knowledge of traditional marquetry techniques and hone my skills alongside Patrick as well as Patrice Lejeune and Kristen Arivee.
