Interview

Lowe, Chris, ‘Professional Woodworker’  “Your Approach to Woodworking”  Interview. 1/30/2012

Chris Lowe is a professional woodworker who was just finishing up his most ambitious project when I met up with him.  Lowe is working an organ case at Cornell patterned after a 17^th century German organ.  The Cornell organ is built with similar methods as the German – including hand planning all surfaces – to ensure an excellent reproduction of the tonal qualities.  The case took about a year to build, and weighs approximately seven tons. 

Lowe started woodworking by watching what his grandfather would do around the house; he would sometimes include him in making small projects.  With his father he built models, everything from wooden ships to planes.  In his senior year of college as an English major, he started wondering what he would do with his degree, so he began building a couple pieces and selling them.  After school he opened his business. 

Lowe usually finds clients by “word of mouth,” he never has to do any advertising.  Many jobs come as referrals from architects or home builders who know about his work.  For most projects he will do several rough sketches, often using design books for inspiration; one of his favorite styles is Greene and Greene.  He then meets with the clients to map out basic functionality and style options.  Once a rough design is figured out he will design the joinery and other details that do not concern to the client. 

The one aspect Lowe enjoys most about woodworking is being able to make people exactly what they want at a very high quality level; to be able to provide a piece that is not a compromise in design and construction.  The organ case is an excellent example of this.  The organ case will last hundreds of years and is the only one of its kind on this side of the Atlantic.  On top of being able to provide a useful and high quality product, Lowe also enjoys the hand-work associated with building, especially dovetailing and hand planning.  All surfaces of the organ case are planed by hand and where they are not covered by hand made mouldings, the dovetails in the corners shine as examples of old-world technique not used very often today. 

Working on the organ case has certainly been a challenge for Lowe, but most of his business traditionally comes from building custom kitchens.  It is these in these kitchens that Lowe is most proud of his design work.  He loves being able to reinvent the inside of a house, often taking out walls or adding windows, completely transforming the interior into something more beautiful and functional.  However, if he didn’t have to run a business he would like to make smaller furniture, such as tables and chairs, to be able to  use fine detailing skills.  He would also add more curved components, which are beautiful but add a large cost to the total cost of the project. 

            To come up with a cost for the project, Lowe makes a list of everything that needs to be done, from material cost, to hours spent on a specific part of the build.  He then adds a little extra to cover other costs, and to make a profit.  Sometimes he gives the customer a price, and they agree to it, but he usually tries to steer the customer towards a build first pay later system, as this allows Lowe to give a more accurate price, which saves the customer money, as he does not have to add on extra cost to give himself a cushion.  For the organ case, it was a flat price that they paid him; he even had a penalty if he delivered late.

The one piece of advice Lowe gave me was to not be scared about starting something.  He said that it takes at least 10 years to begin to feel moderately comfortable with any craft, and woodworking is no exception.  You have to start somewhere, so don’t be intimidated.