Howard Hatch
Conway, New Hampshire
Grid Back Chair
Mahogany & Velvet
Price: $1,400
Howard Hatch
Howard’s first experience in furniture making occurred when he was 22 and took a summer course in woodworking at Rochester Institute of Technology. Although he had no background in making furniture of any kind, he was highly motivated that summer and was able to make a chair, a table, and a condiment box. One week after completing the summer program and returning home to consider his life options, he got an unexpected but fortuitous phone call. A space in the RIT full-time degree program had become available at the last minute and Howard was asked if he would like to enroll. He readily accepted. From that unlikely start, furniture became his life's work and wood his means of expression. He has had commissions from private homes, government buildings and churches. His latest niche market is custom pool tables which sell across the country by way of the internet. The "Grid Back" chair in this exhibit represents his most popular chair design.
“Furniture making is a craft, an art, and a profession. Little did I know at the age of 22 that this field of endeavor would offer a lifetime of challenge and growth.”
Howard Hatch