Custom Furniture Maker Jim Becker’s career actually began in 1979 at Lash Brothers Boatyard in Friendship and continued with 5 1/2 years, through 1986, working at Thos. Moser Cabinetmakers, then of New Gloucester and Auburn, Maine, I acquired a diverse knowledge of traditional and contemporary woodworking techniques. I learned to make things well. I learned to make beautiful things.
Having attended Dartmouth College I chose to move back to the area and first set up shop in Lebanon, N.H. but in June, 1990 I moved the shop to 45 A Street Commerce Park in Wilder, Vermont, just across the Connecticut River. In January 2012 I moved to Manchester Center, Vermont and will rent bench space in a friend’s shop until we, as a family, decide whether to stay permanently or to move back to the Dartmouth area when my son graduates from Burr and Burton Academy in 2013.
My goal is to make good furniture, beautiful and functional. I hope this web site conveys the care I take, the talent I provide, the effort I make to please my customers, and the joy it gives me when I succeed.
With the possible exception of sanding I love every aspect of my custom woodworking job: furniture design, handcrafting, and the interaction with customers. I make CUSTOM FURNITURE(your design), REPRODUCTION FURNITURE(copies or adaptations of existing styles), and my own ORIGINAL DESIGNS; I love the constant challenge and encourage you to draw upon the full breadth of my abilities. I am in business to make those items you can’t quite find and at a level of quality that is better than some and as good as any. I am here to make the furniture of your dreams be they simple or complex.
The photos displayed in this web portfolio should give you a feel for what I can do. Please do not feel limited by or to what you see here. More than half my business is orders for custom and one-of-a-kind pieces of furniture; I would be happy to work with you to design and or to price something completely different. The items you see in the main body of the website were professionally photographed. I have at least as many amateur photographs, many of which are now included on the site (see the link under categories: http://jasbecker.com/categories/amateur-photos/) including more hutches, chairs, beds, and desks. I would be happy to show you even more. Let me know what you seek and I will forward a packet of amateur shots by “e” or “snail” mail, whichever works best for you.
Over the past 20 plus years I have designed a number of pieces which sell over and over, most are Shaker inspired and many also incorporate oriental “Ming” details and are organized under the icon “Ming Shaker Line.” They include a Spindle Bed, the Bowback Bench, Contemporary Windsor Chairs, “Ming Shaker” Dining, Coffee, and Occasional Tables, two Ming Shaker Desks, a bookcase-credenza and a Ming Shaker Credenza among others. In addition to the items pictured I have plans for a Ming Shaker Sideboard, and a chest of drawers with similar details. As they are built they will be photographed and included in this site. In the meantime I would be happy to send a copy of the drawings.
Although I do not have a showroom at the time of this writing, I will be adding a section to the website which includes photos of the items I have in stock. Due to my recent move these items are in storage in Wilder Vermont, however with some lead-time I can arrange for you to see any of them in person. Call (603-252-1904) and we can arrange a time and place.