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Andrew Dominic : Furniture maker and designer, Andrew Dominic, prides himself on quality and attention to detail. -
Andrew Dominic : The Draper kitchen stool is named after the client who commissioned it. These stools were a popular attraction at this year's Design Indaba. -
Andrew Dominic : The Cellar Table trestle table is made of solid English oak and was designed and made for the Klein Constantia Wine Estate. -
Andrew Dominic : Andrew said making this table was an opportunity for him to really concentrate on the hand crafted elements of woodwork. "Handwork adds more character and soul to a piece," Andrew said. -
Andrew Dominic : The Mason Table, also named after the family that commissioned it, is a classic piece made of solid America oak. -
Andrew Dominic : Andrew said he received a small brief for the Mason table and decided on a turned leg as it echoed lighting in the family's home as well as the zig zagged dinosaur tails children draw.
WORDS: Remy Raitt
Furniture maker Andrew Dominic admits that he’s a man of few words. But, in his industry, being a chatterbox is hardly necessary – especially when your furniture speaks volumes for you.
Andrew Dominic turns temperate hard wood into classic and functional pieces of art. His sleek, simple and expertly crafted pieces caught our attention at the recent Design Indaba Expo, where his furniture was exhibited as part of the Salon Privé arena at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC).
The skilled furniture maker has always had “a thing for wood”. Growing up in South West England, in a small coastal town near Plymouth, Andrew spent many of his younger days working on and with boats. “My appreciation for wood really grew from this. But to build a boat or yacht, you need at least five years of nautical engineering behind you. Furniture is much simpler.”
The craft is perhaps simpler, but Andrew doesn’t cut corners when it comes to producing high-quality furniture. “I like doing things well. I’m a perfectionist, so coming close to perfection – even if I’ll never get there 100% – is what I aim for.”
Moving permanently to South Africa about two years ago, gave Andrew the opportunity to open his own workshop in Observatory. And while he hopes, through new commissions and the eventual designing of his own range, that he’ll become a more confident designer, he’ll always consider himself a craftsman first.
Andrew hopes that orders for his products will grow, but he never wants to reach a huge, factory-like scale of production. Another no-no for the furniture maker is plywood. “It bores me. I know it’s sustainable, but to me it looks like a prototype. If I filled my house with plywood furniture, I would feel like a disposable human being who won’t be here for very long.”
Aiming for sustainability
While plywood might be out of the question, Andrew does take measures to ensure sustainability.
Every time a customer commissions a piece of furniture, a tree is planted. Through the community-focused initiative Greenpop, Andrew has donated trees that have been planted all over Cape Town, according to his clients’ wishes.
He also donates all the sawdust to stable yards, and off-cuts are used as firewood.
But Andrew’s well-priced furniture is also sustainable in a less obvious way: “I feel furniture is something that will be in your life for many years, and I hope my work will be considered as treasures that are passed down.”
More information: www.andrewdominic.co.za; workshop@andrewdominic.co.za
