David Hatch, Door County Custom Furniture Maker and Designer

“If you can imagine it, I can build it,” says Door County Furniture maker, David Hatch.

Hatch has been a custom furniture builder since 1980. He began his career working at a cabinet shop on Washington State and quickly fell in love with the art of woodworking. His first creations were for personal use but after seeing how much everyone loved his work, he began to show his furniture at art fairs.

When David moved from the island to “mainland” Door County, he opened a shop to build and display his work as a craftsman. This was the birthplace of Fine Line Classics. Although he had his own gallery back in the 1980′s, Hatch started working for local boat builder, Dan Shea doing sailboat joinery. He credits this work experience in influencing his own technique as well as shaping his personal work ethic.

His work now includes Scandinavian and Danish influences as well as some fresh impressions. His son Nathan Hatch is a sculptor and after watching Nathan create art sculptures, David started freeing up his furniture design theory, realizing that he had taken on a somewhat industrial approach in some of his pieces.

He bagan to partner with other artists. Long time friends and ceramicists, David and Jeanne Aurelius have paired with David in creating some pieces. Their custom made ceramic tiles are the highlight of some of David’s resulting pieces.

Hatch feels a personal connection with every piece of furniture that he makes. Because 90% of his business is commissioned, he believes that the pieces are never his because they are really someone else’s ideas originally. He feels that his satisfaction results from the fact that a piece starts a new life once it leaves his studio.

“The biggest satisfaction I get  is being able to bury myself in a project – and then being able to let it go, knowing that, because it’s a custom piece, it will have a place in someone’s home for years to come.”

He encourages the customer to have input in the design process. David offers them options like selections of wood grain and the types of finish he applies, as well as certain key elements of the basic design.

“It truly becomes custom when customers make every decision regarding the piece and they enjoy that,” says Hatch. “Then, it takes on a life of its own and becomes priceless to its creators.”

Among the many choices a customer is encouraged  to make, the type of wood that is used may be the most important. Hatch prides himself on bringing in exotic woods like Wenge from the tropics, Bubinga from Africa, and Myrtlewood from California and Oregon. Using woods like these, he creates unique pieces as well as topics of conversation.

Some of Hatch’s most memorable projects have the simplest of beginnings. One couple came into his studio and requested that an old walnut tree from their backyard be made into a piece. It had been there through the years as the couple raised five children and each one was emotionally attached to the tree. David gave them a set of instructions explaining specifics to the tree service on how to cut the tree down. He created six tables for the family so that each person would have a piece of the tree from their childhood enshrined in their home… Talk about meaningful!

Visit Door County Furniture maker, David Hatch’s Website to learn more.
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Written and derived from an article that first appeared in the Peninsula Pulse.