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Bobby Waite
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Bobby Waite
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Bobby Waite
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Bobby Waite
by Chrysa Smith
On a busy corner of a major intersection in Langhorne, sits a little shop with a large mission. And that mission is making custom, sculptural furniture for those who know wood. Inside, you’ll find woodworker Nick Martier, with tools in hand, sawdust on floor and a smile on his face. “It’s my passion,” Nick said of his craft. And it shows.
In Nick’s shop are a couple of rocking chairs, double bench, and sofa table. These pieces go on the road to shows and fine craft fairs. Referring to them as his personal collection, Nick is gleeful. He had me sit in a straight-back rocking chair, complete with lumbar support. Beautifully designed, with a hollowed-out seat area for comfort, the back of the chair fit all the right crevices.
Nick’s wife and partner, Kristen, says, “Each piece of wood flows into the next, using smooth curves with contrasting hard lines. In traditional woodworking joints are cut precisely and then fit perfectly. Nick’s approach to sculptural woodworking is where pieces are glued together in a cruder manner, then sculpted to perfection.”
Working with wood suppliers and sawmills in the area, Nick takes trees, has them cut down, traces the wood planks with one of the myriads of wooden forms hanging on his wall. Once he’s measured twice and cut once, he takes his component and begins to hone it with a rasp cut file, which come in different sizes to roughly chisel away the wood in varying amounts. Once the right shape has been achieved, he uses sandpaper to smooth. “Lots and lots of sandpaper,” Kristen jokingly added. “Seven grits are used, ranging from 80-320 grits, then steel wool to burnish.” Holes are drilled where the dowels and screws are located to join the piece. Then it is finished with six to seven hand rubbings that Nick said are like a traditional oil finish. “I like to do about three a day. It will take about 3-4 days to complete.” The finish is composed of a combination of boiled linseed, tung oil and beeswax. In all, a rocker might take about two and a half to three weeks to complete. And a lifetime to cherish.
“People told me there was no market for furniture-making,” Nick said of his early days, “So I went to work for my uncle as a carpenter.” He completed projects most carpenters are asked to do, like built-in bookcases. But something else was calling to him—his original love of making furniture. “I love getting up in the morning to go to work, and I love going home to my family at the end of the day.” With his wife Kristen by his side, they cover the building and marketing responsibilities. The remainder is picked up by their two young children, with one making a viral TikTok video about the business and the other building his own creations from wood scraps found on the shop floor.
But as with many artists, his true education began in high school. “I took woodshop to get out of school,” Nick joked, “I didn’t take it seriously.” But when he got in trouble and had to sit in a classroom instead of the shop, he stumbled upon something that set him up for where he is today. And that was a video about Sam Maloof, one of three major woodworkers in the world. Fascinated by his story, Nick watched the entire documentary. Maloof honed his skills on the West Coast, making sculptural furniture, including having pieces in The White House and Smithsonian Museum. “I fell in love with it,” Nick reminisced, and Maloof’s work became his inspiration.
One of his earliest projects came from his grandmother’s backyard. A tree was dying, so Nick had it cut down and out of it came a bench, table, and rocker, saying, “We’ll always have the memory of her.” Another time, Nick was at an event, where a man sitting at his table mentioned a dying tree on his property. So, Nick gave him his card. That tree turned into furnishings after it was milled in New Jersey. “I use sustainable wood; often local, fallen trees. Nobody is cutting down forests for these projects,” he added.
It wasn’t until the pandemic that Nick made the formal decision to make custom furniture his main focus. At the time, he was renting space on a farm in Doylestown. Needing to flee the confinement of the four walls, Kristen and the kids would come and take up residence each day. It was then that Nick realized, he needed his own space. And so, with an old pickup truck, a variety of hand tools, bandsaw and table saw, he set out to make his passion his reality. And off he went to Langhorne.
The wood of choice is walnut. “It’s the Beatles of wood,” Nick joked, “Nine out of ten woodworkers like it because it’s easy to work with and it can have straight or gnarly grains.” Nick has won Best in Show at the New Hope Arts and Crafts Festival, is a member of the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen, sits on the board of the Bucks County Guild’s Outreach Program, and always has a project going in the shop. He teaches woodworking as part of a continuing education program in Montgomery County, and his work is on display at the Works in Wood exhibit in New Hope.
“I like to be creative,” Nick added, which is why he so enjoys time at crafts festivals. He said the creative folks he has met make up a great community. “There are no secrets in woodworking,” according to Nick, which is why he loves meeting and talking to other woodworkers. It’s also why he has a ‘by appointment’ policy for his shop. “People would stop by, and I’d wind up teaching them what I do. Before I knew it, a couple of hours flew by, and I needed to get back to work.” Kristen keeps him on track and is his greatest cheerleader. In fact, he said all successful woodworkers are husband and wife teams.
While high school may not have been Nick’s favorite time, it was his proving ground. He recently met a fellow classmate from his high school days. When asked what he was doing now, he told her woodworking. “That’s ironic,” she said, “because you were so good at it in high school.”
Nick Martier Woodworking is located at 970 Durham Road, Langhorne, PA. To contact Nick Martier, call 215-932-7046 or email kristen@nickmartierwoodworker.com. For more information, visit www.nickmartierwoodworker.com.
Chrysa Smith is a regular contributor to Bucks County magazine and an admirer of fine craftsmanship.