Richard got started into woodworking as a youngster when his paternal grandmother gave him a wooden birdhouse kit to assemble -- he was about 6 years old and she made the kit herself.  This was the early start of the family philosophy that many things, especially gifts, could be hand-made and used.  Today, Richard is a retired school teacher of 34 years in a high school setting in which his curriculum to teach was Agricultural Mechanics & Sciences -- in other words, a vocational shop/classroom instructor.  This environment provided a lifelong stage to experiment with woodworking for instruction as well as for personal satisfaction.  There are four basic tenets to his way of woodworking today.  Each and every piece that he personally creates, designs, and constructs must be able to satisfy all of these basic founding principles which are:  form, function, figure, and finish.  Simply put, a piece must have the correct design (form) for its intended use and/or purpose (function).  It must also have the other two higher level tenets of some type of eye-catching grain or "figure" and lastly a great finish.  He currently resides near Buchanan, Virginia where he has been a resident for over 35 years.

rwfurman@gmail.com       (540) 797-0713