The Last Cabinet of James Krenov

Like so many others he touched, whether in person or through his writing and work, James Krenov had a profound impact on my life. His inspirational teaching stoked my interest in fine woodworking at every level:  from the smallest details, to overall design, to the very whys and wherefores. His school also had a significant impact on the course of my personal life — that’s where I met my wife and several life-long friends.

With failing eyesight, Jim stopped cabinetmaking in July of 2006. If you visit his web site — www.jameskrenov.com — you’ll find a page devoted to his final effort, “the last, unfinished, cabinet”. This piece was commissioned by my wife and I. Jim got as far as putting the cabinet together, and cutting out the drawer fronts for the inside drawers, but could go no further. His call asking if I would complete the piece created a swirl of conflicting thoughts and feelings. After much consideration, and no small amount of trepidation, I agreed to do it.

First I dovetailed the drawers. Jim had playfully selected various contrasting woods for the fronts, so in that spirit I carved different pulls for each drawer. He had told me how he “pillowed” the fronts to lend them softness and liveliness so I followed his example. He told me he preferred that I design the stand, rather than copy one of his, in order to effect a truer collaboration. I played with a few ideas, and when I had one that complemented the cabinet I made a full scale mock-up, took pictures, and sent them to Jim for his approval. I used doussie, an old favorite of Jim’s. The plank came from the time my wife and I were at school. She had bought it from another student, the very talented Reg Herndon, and used much of it to build a desk and chair. There was just enough left to make the stand.

Thinking back to my ruminations before I ever laid saw, chisel, or plane to wood, I received input from three prominent museum conservators and several woodworking friends whom I admire and respect. Advice ran from “wrap it up in a blanket, put it in a closet and make a reproduction to enjoy”, to “put the unfinished cabinet on a pedestal with the unfinished drawer parts inside”, to “finish the piece, as Jim requested”. In the end I sincerely wish I could have done all three because each approach had its undeniable merits. Still, we enjoy living with the cabinet every day — a reminder of beginnings, endings, the roil of time and circumstance, and an ever present embodiment of the complexity, simplicity and vital spirit of a wonderful and tremendously influential man, James Krenov.