If you had not heard of the Wharton Esherick Museum before reading this, I am excited to introduce you to a whimsical, impressive, and inspiring place for woodworkers and non-woodworkers alike. The museum is the preserved home and studio of Wharton Esherick (1887-1970), hand-built and constructed into the Pennsylvania hillside over a 40-year period. Esherick’s studio is filled with his original furniture, sculptures, woodcut prints, and other artwork. He was a leader in the Studio Furniture Movement and considered himself an artist, therefore often blurring the lines between sculpture and furniture. Esherick’s motto was “If it isn’t fun, it isn’t worth doing,” and there is no more perfect way to describe his work as well as the buildings and spaces he created.

As a studio furniture maker based in Philadelphia, I can’t believe my luck that WEM is such an accessible source of inspiration and contemplation. Over the past seven years, I have taken countless trips through the studio as a teacher with my woodworking students, as a craftsperson with friends, as a maker looking for motivation, and now as a part-time staff member! As a part of the WEM team, while I am giving a tour or accessing the archives, I find myself admiring all the small details perhaps only a woodworker might notice. I’m here to share some of my favorite less-noticed details inside Wharton Esherick’s studio.

Door latches

Almost every door in the studio has a handmade latch. They are each hand-shaped and the mechanisms that make them work are simple yet effective. The latches are functional sculptures used in an incredibly utilitarian context so it’s easy to open a door and not notice the work of art at your fingertips.

Light plates

Much like the latches, Esherick’s light switch plates are so utilitarian you may miss them if you aren’t looking closely. Each light switch has a unique, hand-carved wooden plate surrounding it. Some have patterns, others are more organic in shape.

Shallow drawers

Shifting into furniture details, let us admire the practicality and genius of Esherick’s drawer design. The drawers in almost every piece are shallow so you don’t lose clothes/items at the bottom! What? Why are we not all doing this? Even the deeper drawers in the studio have sides that drop down to a narrow drawer front to allow you to clearly see what is inside.

Pops of color

Esherick began his life and career as an artist studying impressionist painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA). He was a skilled painter but he got his hands on gouges and wood and it wasn’t long before he adopted wood as his medium. The shift was profound, so the studio is primarily filled with wooden objects with just a few paintings here and there. However, if you look closely, you’ll find pops of painted color in fun places. For instance, the tongues of the tongue-and-groove door panels in his Cabinet Desk are painted a bright and cheerful blue. Inside the cabinets of Esherick’s kitchen, you’ll find the interior walls and shelves are a bright green.

Just a few subtle details give us a glimpse into Esherick’s work and mind. I could fill a book with the lesser-noticed details inside Wharton Esherick’s studio. I appreciate his skill and artistic voice but, even more so, that he was a person who built his surroundings and the things he used every day just as he wanted them without holding back on the fun!

The Wharton Esherick Museum is open to the public for guided tours but visitors must make advance reservations to enter the atudio. Visit www.whartonesherickmuseum.org for more information or to book a tour!

	Esherick Museum is a woodworking mecca Who wouldn’t want to surround themselves with a completely handmade world?
	Gallery: Furniture makers pay tribute to Wharton Esherick 42 artists and craftsmen celebrate a poplar tree on the Esherick estate.
	From the archive: Wharton Esherick Work of the hand, the heart, and the head