Guest Speakers

Allan Breed spent his early teens buying old furniture at flea markets and auctions and by 19 was employed by The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston in the restoration lab where he was able to examine some of the finest American pieces. After graduating from college with a degree in History he began restoring furniture for collectors and museums. In 1977 he built his first set of Chippendale chairs and has been reproducing American furniture using traditional tools and techniques ever since.

Allan consults with collectors and dealers on the authenticity of early furniture and regularly lectures on furniture connoisseurship at museums and at the education departments of Christie’s and Sotheby’s in New York.

(photos taken by Justin Guarino)

Honored as a “Signature Artist at the Noyes Museum of Art as an exemplar of the highest caliber of artistic standards. Guarino’s work is in residential and corporate collections. He is a member of the Furniture Society and American Craft Council.

Guarino’s furniture is inspired by natural forms and created with age-old woodworking techniques. He carves sensual and organic shapes, often using rescued lumber from fallen trees. Guarino has developed world-class skills using fine hand tools and machinery to create his unique designs. His sensitivity to the materials allows him to showcase their many nuances of color and texture. This intimacy with tools and wood allows him to sculpt pieces that impart serenity and calm, reflecting the inherent grace and strength of various local and exotic woods.

His art has been published in Fine Woodworking Magazine, NJ Savvy, and Woodshop News. His work can also be found in 500 Tables and 500 Cabinets, both by Lark Books. Schiffer Books has chosen his art for Studio Furniture from Today’s Leading Woodworkers and Wood Art Today 2 published by Schiffer. He has been on interviewed on radio and cable television.

Glen G. Guarino, a long time teacher both at the high school and university levels has loved woodworking since grade school. He holds a BA Degree in Industrial Education and Technology and a Masters of Studio Arts. Guarino is currently an Adjunct Professor at William Paterson University Fine Arts Department.

Guarino is delighted to return to Wood Expo 2012 and will be a guest speaker. Wood Expo 2012. Wood Expo, part of New England Home Show is held at Seaport World Trade Center, Bostton MA from February23-26,2012.

Steve Brown has been an instructor in the Cabinet and Furniture Making Department at North Bennet Street School for 13 years, serving as the program’s head for nine. He also is the technical adviser and a frequent guest on the WGBH television show Rough Cut: Woodworking with Tommy Mac.
He is also a 1990 graduate of the school. Steve was hired to teach in the school’s workshop program at its inception in ’92 and developed several of the courses. During this time, Steve worked full time for Phil Lowe—a 1974 NBSS graduate and founder of the Furniture Institute of Massachusetts—in Beverly, Mass., making new furniture and restoring antiques until he was hired to teach full-time in the NBSS furniture program. Steve’s restoration work is included in the collections of museums and private clients and includes Ralph Lauren’s 1938 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic Coupe, which was the center-piece of Speed, Style, and Beauty: Cars from the Ralph Lauren Collection at Boston’s MFA. He has also contributed articles to Fine Woodworking magazine. Steve has a BA in Philosophy from Gordon College in Wenham, Mass. and lives in Manchester, Mass. with his wife, Peggy and sons, Jake and Noah.

A native of Wales, Terry Moore left school at fifteen with only a year of formal craft training. He joined a London-based rock musical production which, in 1973-74, toured in the United States before disbanding. Moore stayed, settling in Newport. Since 1977 he has had his own shop doing cabinetwork, architectural woodwork, acoustic guitar construction, and making one-of-a-kind furniture pieces. Moore is a member of the Guild of New Hampshire Woodworkers and the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen. Over the past decade at the League’s annual crafts fair, he has been awarded Best in Show, the Designer’s Award, Best in Wood, and Best Contemporary Work.

Tom learned to appreciate the fine arts aspect of woodworking in his teens, but an apprenticeship with 73-year old P.A. “Pug” Moore launched his 17 years of making furniture professionally. Tom’s emphasis on combining exceptional materials with traditionally inspired designs has led to his work being acquired by notable museums. Tom has been featured in Traditional Home magazine, The New York Times, and Fine Woodworking magazine, and has received several design awards from the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen.

For the past 8 years Tom has been teaching furniture making classes. In late 2006 Tom accepted the invitation to be the Chairman of the New Hampshire Furniture Masters, an honor that greatly humbles him.

In addition, for the past 3-4 years he has coordinated the Furniture Masters Prison program, through which inmates receive individual and workshop training as a rehabilitation effort. View Tom’s work, and read his story by clicking on the “Artist” link for Tom McLaughlin at the New Hampshire Furniture Masters Association.

“Every shop that I worked in allowed me access to the machinery, before and after work, for my own projects. I learned to build furniture from the people I worked with and through my own curiosity.”
Peter works to commission, designing and building contemporary, hardwood furniture. Tradition enters through the forms, joinery and care that shape his process. Peter’s goal is that every piece precisely meets the needs and desires of each client.

This year, Peter was asked to participate in the New Hampshire Furniture Masters’ auction as an invited artist. He has been on the faculty of the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship for the past 10 years. Peter started writing for Fine Woodworking at about the same time. Through writing, teaching and building, he continues to explore this craft.

Since 2007, Freddy has worked out of his own studio, partnered with Master Craftsmen Will Neptune. Freddy restores and reproduces period furniture for private clients and institutions. He focuses in the Federal Period, with a specialty in veneering, banding, and inlay. Most recently, Freddy has worked with a conservation studio, reproducing furniture for the Hamilton Grange Museum and other National Park Service estates.

In an effort to share his love of the craft, Freddy has worked as coordinator of the SAPFM’s New England Chapter since 2009. He also spreads his wealth of knowledge by teaching and assisting across the East Coast.

After graduation from high school, Chuck began working for other cabinet makers in order to hone his skills. After having spent nearly ten years working with Irion Company Furnituremakers, and having worked his way to heading up their chair and casework production, Chuck decided to branch off on his own. Since 1991 Chuck has been building a reputation for building the highest quality 18th Century furniture in the country. His work can be seen in museums, private collections and at some of the finest juried craft shows in the country.

In 2007 Chuck added the title “woodworking mentor” to his list of accomplishments by starting the Acanthus Workshop. He’s received numerous woodworking awards throughout his career and has appeared in local and national magazines and newspapers. Also in 2007, he began sharing his knowledge publicly by writing for Popular Woodworking magazine and teaching skill driven classes at woodworking shows across the country. In 2009, and again in 2011, Chuck was a presenter at the Woodworking in America Hand Tool Conference. In 2010, he’s added a new line of instructional DVD’s which will be available through the school website. In 2011 Chuck began hosting a subscription based online show called No BS Woodworking where he imparts his woodworking knowledge to his viewers on a weekly basis.