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Steven Der-Garabedian

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Mississauga, Ontario furniture maker Steven Der-Garabedian on patience, veneer and getting bored.

Maker: Steven Der-Garabedian
Age: 57
Business: Black Walnut Studio Inc.
Location: Mississauga, Ontario
Shop: 20' x 18'
Education: BSc Computer Science Specialist Degree (Mom made me finish university), astronomy, photography and photojournalism Woodworking education – Rosewood Studio in Perth, Ontario, and self-taught

Watch our video: Steven Der-Garabedian

Q & A with Steven Der-Garabedian

How long have you been building furniture?
Over 25 years.

What sort of furniture do you specialize in?
All sorts but lately more veneered boxes and lighting.

Tell us a couple interesting things about your personal life.
I was born in a country that no longer exists, Salisbury, Rhodesia, which is now Zimbabwe.

If you were not a furniture maker what would you be?
Pilot.

In order, what are the three most important items in your shop apron?
Pencil, 6″ steel ruler and eraser.

Do you prefer hand tools or power tools?
Both.

Solid wood or veneer?
Veneer seven days a week and twice on Thursdays.

Figured wood or straight grain?
Depends on what part of a piece it is.

Inherited Vintage Stanley Sweetheart or fresh-out-of-the-box Veritas?
Brand spanking new Veritas.

Flowing curves or geometric shapes?
Flowing curves.

Favourite wood?
Black walnut.

Least favourite wood?
Red oak. Yuk!

Steven Der-Garabedian

Chestnut Burl Cabinet
This is a cabinet Der-Garabedian made for himself and was featured in Australian Wood Review Magazine. Magnets are buried inside the sliding doors and drawers so no visible hardware breaks up the grain patterns. The magnetic handle is sitting on top of the cabinet.

Chestnut burl cabinet

Chess Board
One of Der-Garabedian’s favourite projects, it just seemed to flow through the shop nicely. Ebony feet with brass pins add lots of style to the project, while an ebony drawer knob allows the user to access the pieces under the board.

Chess board

Cherry cabinet
This vertical cherry cabinet came about from a lesson on joinery. Der-Garabedian ended up using dowels, splines, mortise and tenons, dadoes, as well as dovetails for the joinery to give his students a good challenge.

Cherry cabinet

Cherry cabinet detail

Cherry cabinet

Quotes from Steven Der-Garabedian

My studio is a nice compact size that has the standard power tools and a sturdy Lee Valley Bench where most of the work is done.

I work much better under a deadline. I like having the pressure and putting all my concentration on what I’m doing. I get bored easily so I like challenges. Having the shop in the house lets me work anytime I want. I used to get up early but now take my time and start after sipping some coffee and hanging out with Walle my shop dog.

I love veneering and I hope people see that in my book, “Veneering Essentials”. I also like doing dovetail joinery. Oh, and flushing things with a block plane, like when you cut a dowel a little proud, then flush it down to the surface via a block plane. It feels like you’ve completed the job. Very satisfying.

Don’t use every colour of wood in one project. Less is truly more.

I’m not an epoxy-pour-river-table fan.

I get very little business from social media. It’s hard to sell a piece to another wood­worker when they think, “I can build that.”
I keep this quote by Antoine de Saint-Exupery in mind. “Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing left to add but when there is nothing left to take away.”

Adrian Ferrazzutti and Suda Kenji are two of my favourite makers. The skill and attention to detail of both of them is phenomenal. You can tell there’s some expe­rience in those hands. Have a look at a piece called “Sei-ren (Blue Lotus)” by Suda Kenji.

The simpler design, the better. While I’m not mystical and don’t go hugging trees to feel their soul, I do think wood is beau­tiful and if you just present it in a nice and simple design it will work. There is a great line in the movie “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.” Sean Penn’s character says, “Beautiful things don’t ask for attention.” I like that. It says a lot.

My sketch work is horrendous. I often start with a rough sketch followed by a full-size mockup. I tried digital tools like SketchUp but if I didn’t use it for a while I forgot all the shortcuts and it became more difficult of a process. I went back to my tried and true.

Learn to veneer. It’s a very important skill to have for so many reasons.

I think more and more CNC work will come into play in the future. I’m not the curmudgeon that’s dead against it, but everyone will have to find a line that they won’t cross with it.

I still think power tools should be used as shop apprentices rather than the final output.

I recently built a chess board as a commis­sion for a good friend. I’m proud of how it turned out using techniques that I pulled from my experience using veneers. It’s hard to describe, but I felt like I was in the zone with it. The whole process felt right. Not rushed. I think birds stopped singing when I finished…for a little while anyway.

Woodworking has made my life better. I can’t imagine not working with wood. It is such an amazing medium. It’s taught me patience. It’s taught me to pay attention to detail. To not cut corners. It’s taught me to make things properly instead of throwing things away and becoming part of that culture.

Woodworking is not a secret thing. Pass it on. It’s a huge part of why I teach and why I write.


Steven Der-Garabedian was profiled in September 2024


Rob Brown - [email protected]

Rob is a studio furniture maker and the editor at Canadian Woodworking & Home Improvement. Instagram at @RobBrownTeaches


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