Wisconsin furniture maker’s work highlighted at Smithsonian show

Furniture maker Tom Dumke of Thomas William Furniture in the greater Milwaukee area recently completed a successful exhibition at the 35th annual Smithsonian Craft Show. The show took place April 27-30 at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.

His first time in attendance, Dumke was one of the 120 fine-art craft artists at the show that represented 34 states and was chosen from more than 1,000 applications. Dumke was one of four artists picked from Wisconsin. Artists in 17 categories were selected to participate throughout a juried process.

Dumke crafts Shaker-inspired furniture, which he describes as traditional with a modern flare.

For more, visit www.thomaswilliamfurniture.com.

Maine Wood 2018

The Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockport, Maine, issued a call for entries for its Maine Wood 2018 show. This biennial, juried exhibition takes place in the center’s Messler Gallery from Jan. 19 through April 11, 2018, to showcase the breadth, creativity and excellence of wood craftsmanship in the state of Maine.

The deadline for entries is Aug. 31. All Maine artists and artisans who work in wood are encouraged to apply, including furniture makers, turners, carvers, sculptors, luthiers and others. Submissions must have been made in Maine during the last five years. The primary criterion for acceptance is excellence in design and craftsmanship. 

Jurors are Fabio Fernández, executive director of the Society of Arts+Crafts in Boston; Joshua Friend, editor at American Woodturner in St. Paul, Minn.; and Mira Nakashima, creative director of George Nakashima Woodworker in New Hope, Pa.

For submission guidelines and information, visit www.woodschool.org.

This article originally appeared in the July 2017 issue.