Built to last: mattawa furniture craftsman excels in classical design.

• Author: Ross, Ian

Anachronism is a moniker that Michael .Waram wears well. The designer and craftsman is an admitted throwback to the days when quality furniture was created with passion, care and attention to detail.

Waram and his wife, Pauline Bergeron, run a 2,000-square-foot woodworking shop and gallery on their 100-acre bush lot at Eau Claire, a four-corners rural community between North Bay and Mattawa.

Inside his studio, heated by a wood-fired masonry heater in the corner, you'll find no push-button, automated CNC machines spitting out furniture components; just a band saw, lathe, jigs and some basic hand tools.

For someone who loves wood and working with its grains, there's no better way to develop a tactile sense for one's craft.

His showroom is crammed with handcrafted dressers, tables, doors, mirrors, frames, bowls, candleholders and plenty of chairs, which are his specialty.

Over the past three decades, Waram estimates he's made more than 30,000 chairs in various styles for Teak Furniture, Harvest House, interior decorators, and many folks who've heard of him through word of mouth and travelled up his tree-lined driveway on Peddler's Drive.

His most recognizable pieces are his barrel chairs and Mission-style furniture.

While most customers come looking for traditional pieces, Waram isn't averse to playing around with historical design through a few prototypes.

Inspiration will come from film or magazines that will prompt him to grab a piece of wood, "and just see what happens. I prefer doing that than having a plan. I'd rather wing it."

Waram's approach to furniture makaing is all about "genuine joinery Nothing faked. There are no screws and plugs."

"Our chairs do not come apart," added Bergeron, who handles sales and the business side of the operation. "We've never had a joint come apart or anything come loose."

He eschews particle board in favour of working with walnut, ash, white oak, cherry and his favourite, iroko, or African teak.

Born and raised in Sudbury, Waram developed his prowess for woodworking at an early age while watching his grandfather, Matthew Waram, a respected finish carpenter and cabinetmaker.

He gathered discarded wine crates from a neighbour and waste lumber from a construction company's dump site to create rudimentary carvings and bookends, his skills and projects eventually becoming more refined through high school art, drafting and woodworking classes.

Though his passion lay with furniture-making, it didn't always...