Heart of the Wood
Specializing in reproductions of 17th century furniture and woodwork

About Heart of the Wood

Heart of the Wood is the  work of Ted Curtin and Rob Tarule.   We specialize in re-creating period furniture and woodwork of the 16th and 17th centuries.  These are reproductions in the truest sense of the word, museum quality pieces made by hand utilizing the same tools, methods and materials as the originals.   Consequently, our work exhibits the same kinds of surface textures, grain patterns and tool marks - in all ways except age, the exact image of the works that inspire them.  We make pieces based on all of the structural forms of the period, from elaborate frame-and-panel bedsteads, chests and cupboards, to turned chairs, to simpler pieces of boarded construction like 'bible' boxes and wall cupboards.   While we specialize in reproducing the appearance which these works presented when new, you will see that we can also recreate a range of 'aged' looks.  We do not 'distress' our work however, as we feel that an honest reproduction will hold its value, and be more appreciated over time, than a piece which has been artificially worn.

Heart of the Wood  represents the combined experience of more than 30 years in the study and application of the joiner's art.   Our  investigations into the lost practices of 17th century English and Anglo-American furniture-making began as a part of our work at Plimoth Plantation, one of America's premiere living-history museums.   Since that time, we have provided period furnishings and woodwork to a number of museums for exhibits and  for use in interpretive programs, as well as to many individual clients.  We have also studied at first-hand many of the original pieces in the major American collections of 17th century furniture.

Our research into the working practices of 17th century joiners, turners and carpenters informs our own working methods.   We work with the same kinds of hand tools as our predecessors, and process most of our own timber as well.  Much of the time we are working with fresh, unseasoned wood, a technique understood and exploited by virtually all woodworking artisans in this period (for more information on these techniques, follow the 'About' links below, or click here).   Because each piece we make is built individually, each has an individual nature and character, and is clearly distinguishable from machine-made work.   All of our work receives our mark, and is numbered and dated.   These characteristics make for furniture which will grow in value, and which will be handed down as heirlooms.

We feel that there is some intrinsic value in working this way, quite apart from the point of technical and historical accuracy.  In fact, a piece with the same look and feel as the original cannot be produced by modern means.  But beyond that fact there is something else, something both tangible and intangible, about a thing that has been brought into being by human hands.  It expresses a different reality than the rest of the mass-produced objects around us.  We believe that these kinds of qualities are worth preserving, and that you will find our work worth having for the same reasons.

The following links will lead you to more detailed descriptions of the various kinds of  pieces that we reproduce,  and to information regarding articles and exhibits which have featured our work as well as museums and historic sites where examples of our work can be seen first hand.

If you would like a list of books with good illustrations of 17th century furniture for further visual reference, check our bibliography page.