Renowned Wood Worker Passes with Woodchip in Hand

2009 September 22

tags: carpentry, Design, designer furniture, furniture, james krenov, wood work

by MODERNICA

Doing what you love and working with material, instead of on material, were philosophies James Krenov followed in his lifetime creating wood work with personality. Mr. Krenov was the founder of the fine woodworking program at the College of the Redwoods in Fort Bragg, California. It is one of the most influential programs of its kind in the country.

“Through his school and his furniture, Mr. Krenov inspired a generation of furniture makers with a high regard for both materials and craftsmanship and design with an aesthetic informed by organic, subtle details,” the Web site FineWoodworking.com said. His work is on exhibit at museums in Japan, Norway, Sweden and the United States.

Mr. Krenov liked to keep shavings of Lebanon cedar and sandalwood in a box beneath his bed so he could savor their fragrance, his daughter Katya said. When he died, she said, he was holding a piece of sandalwood that he had shaped and smoothed. Mr. Krenov, age 88, died on September 9, in Fort Bragg, California. Read More.