Incollect Magazine Issue 7

120 www.incollect.com “The timeless beauty of wood is what comes to mind when I think of why it’s fashionable in furniture today,” says Joseph Cleghorn, who, along with partner Connor Moxam, helms the Brooklyn-based design-build practice Chapter & Verse. “We consider ourselves studio furniture makers, using mixed materials as required by each project, with wood as a foundation element,” he says. It is also the foundation of their practice as furniture makers. “I think knowing how to work wood is a requisite for making and if you know how to work with wood, then I have found all the other materials skills sort of fall into line.” Cleghorn is living his childhood dream, he says. He made his first piece of furniture in elementary school and went on to complete a studio furniture apprenticeship where he learned to work with wood. Together with Connor, who studied visual arts and engineering, they create some of the most stylish and innovative custom-made furniture on the market today. Everything is handmade at their 7,500-foot studio in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where they employ a team of 10 people. They work almost exclusively on commission and complete nearly 100 bespoke pieces a year. The Northeast is where a majority of their wood is sourced via local distributors, specifically white oak (increasingly the material of choice for custom interiors), as well as walnut, maple, some teak, and exotic veneers on occasion like ebony and lacewood. “We are known for our finishes,” Cleghorn says. “The other thing that distinguishes us as makers is that we only go one speed, everything is archival, every piece is as well built and finished as it can be — that is one of our core principles, making things that last.” The makers often get requests from designers and architects to create designs that resolve unique, often complicated interior challenges and needs. “We are solution-oriented, system thinkers. My partner Connor and I often joke we take all the projects that are too hard or no one else wants. Everything we do is technically difficult. These kinds of clients know what they want, they want it perfectly executed, and want it to look effortless and new.” Chapter & Verse Fine details distinguish the Bancroft Bedside Table. Fluted tambour drawer fronts, rounded corners, and a gracefully curved base are brought together for this sophisticated design in French walnut and satin lacquer with a marble top. The Eileen Writing Desk is a svelte, clean-lined design with elegant French art deco style, shown here in sandblasted American white oak with an inset top of Breccia Capraia marble.