The book has a real intimacy in it’s biographical process; Savage through tacit knowledge empathizes with these master craftsman that no other could quite understand or unravel. The biographies are insightful, relevant and well-researched. Savage doesn’t just go to a library or Wikipedia to find out about his subjects but he visits them in person and finds out what they do day to day, their beliefs and philosophies and their processes, goals and aspirations with many quotes in between making it a fusion interview/biography. The book has 10 extended biographies and work analysis followed briefly at the end by 10 other artist portfolios.
These craftsman (and women) include:
Thomas Hucker, Michael Hurwitz, Rupert Williamson, Peter Danko, Judy Kensley McKie, John Cederquist, Garry Knox Bennett, Jack Larimore, John Larimore, John Makepeace, David Savage, Joseph Walsh, Daniel Lacey, Michael Puryear, Waywood, Alun Heslop, Yuri Kobayashi, Marc Fish, Tom Loeser, Mark Levin, Matthias Pliessnig.
It’s amazing to see the level of fortitude and emotional origin that stems from many of the pieces in ‘Furniture with Soul’. Although the end result of this tireless development campaign is sometimes just one chair or one table, the emotional thought and love brought into each one of these objects surpasses anything a modern IKEA piece has to offer. Like all good books, ‘Furniture with Soul’ is about the journey not the end result and I leave this book in pure awe and amazement about what is capable by the human hand accompanied with a few tools.