A masterpiece of craftmanship: Ladies' secretaire with Chequer Tree veneer
Bad Honnef/Heidelberg. Even as a young apprentice, Maxime Krämer shone by producing the best work sample, achieving the best overall grade and the best apprentice's work. The masterpiece she produced is a ladies' secretaire with Chequers Tree veneer in the form of a modern interpretation of a classic roll-top desk. The cherry-red veneer of the Chequers tree, also known as “Swiss Pear”, lends the piece of furniture exclusive flair”, says Maxime Krämer. Immediately after her successful master craftsman examination, she founded her own firm, which received the award of best startup company in 2016. As a young, enthusiastic carpenter, with plenty of devotion and much passion, based in Heidelberg, she now produces unique pieces of furniture from the natural material wood.
The combination of wood surfaces, coloured linoleum and stainless steel make the work by Maxime Krämer for her master craftsmanship examination - a classic ladies' secretaire - a modern, fascinating one-off. “Through the continuously recurring curves in the substructure, in the shape of the roll top, and in the profiles on the baseplate and writing area, the result is a harmonious overall appearance”, says Krämer.
To make the piece of furniture easy to assemble, it is made up of five elements: a substructure made of stainless steel, a basic carcass, a roll-top or lid, a writing area and an inner carcass. The writing area and inner carcass are faced with linoleum, the remaining elements are veneered with Chequer Tree and are oiled with hard wax. The roll top is moulded, when closed it almost completely covers the baseplate and seals the furniture dust-tight. To open the secretaire, the top is rotated inside the piece of furniture with the help of a recessed handle.
The inner carcass contains three drawers made of solid wood. The middle drawer is used to hold sheets of DIN A4 paper and for this reason is wider than the two other drawers. Above the drawers the secretaire offers an open shelf space. The writing area can be pulled out of the secretaire with the help of mechanically guided shelf runners, so that it provides sufficient space for DIN A4 sheets. “The wonderful secretaire is undoubtedly an expression of top craftsmanship and veneer art. It is hardly possible to present veneer any better”, declared the furniture expert and Secretary of Initiative Furnier und Natur (IFN), Ursula Geismann. IFN/RK
How veneer is made:
Veneer is obtained from the wood of selected trees, which are mainly grown in sustainably managed forests. The tree species mostly used are Maple, Beech, Oak, Ash and Walnut from domestic, European and in the case of Oak, Maple and Walnut, from American forests too. If the right tree has been found it is peeled, sliced or sawn. This produces sheets of wood, which are around 0.45 to 6 millimetres thick. These are dried, stacked according to quality and grade, are cut and are put together to form a deck. These veneer decks are then bonded and pressed onto substrate materials such as solid wood laminboards, particleboards, MDF panels, multiplex panels or plywood.
Initiative Furnier + Natur (IFN)
Initiative Furnier + Natur (IFN) e.V. was founded in 1996 by the Ger-man veneer industry and its partners. The purpose of the association based in Bad Honnef is to promote veneer as a material. It is funded and supported by European companies in the veneer industry, trade and the veneer processing industry as well as professional associations of the timber industry.
Photo 1: Maxime Krämer making furniture in her carpenter's workshop in Heidelberg. Photo: Sebastian Schnepper of Lossen Fotografie Heidelberg
Photo 2: Ladies' secretary with Chequer Tree veneer, with closed roll top, which completely seals off the worktop and thus protects it from dust. Photo: Sebastian Schnepper of Lossen Fotografie Heidelberg
Photo 3: Ladies' secretary opened with extended worktop. Photo: Sebastian Schnepper of Lossen Fotografie Heidelberg
Additional information on the subject of veneers can be found at:www.furnier.de or at www.furniergeschichten.de.
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Photo 1: Maxime Krämer making furniture in her carpenter’s workshop in Heidelberg. Photo: Sebastian Schnepper of Lossen Fotografie Heidelberg
Photo 2: Ladies’ secretary with Chequer Tree veneer, with closed roll top, which completely seals off the worktop and thus protects it from dust. Photo: Sebastian Schnepper of Lossen Fotografie Heidelberg
Photo 3: Ladies’ secretary opened with extended worktop. Photo: Sebastian Schnepper of Lossen Fotografie Heidelberg