The Master: Sam Maloof
Sam Maloof says he would like to have 10 more good years - 10 years to continue designing and building furniture in his Alta Loma, Calif., shop. With more than 55 years of doing just that, 89-year-old Maloof never ceases to amaze. He's clearly proud of his newest creation, "Beverly Chair," which is named for his second wife, Beverly. The unusual arm design of the ziricote chair is truly impressive, and just the latest example of the genius of the man who calls himself a woodworker.
"I told Beverly I would never make another one and now I wish I hadn't said that," he revealed. "Everybody wants a Beverly chair. It's a very sensual chair and everybody seems to like it a lot."
Since his first large commission designing and building furniture for the home of industrial designer Henry Dreyfuss, to his latest project, Maloof has remained true to himself. His ideals have never wavered and he has always built furniture one piece at a time with no duplication.
And he is a fascinating storyteller.
Humble beginnings
Maloof and his wife of 50 years, Alfreda (who died in 1998) lived in a tract house in Ontario, Calif., beginning in 1949. Maloof built furniture from dunnage to fill the house, and the garage was converted to a shop. The early days were tough for the family and his experiences during the 1950s taught him lessons that he adheres to today.
"I've said this again and again: If you have a wife that is with you 150 percent and understands what you want to do, then you're all right. But if you have a wife you have to support, who doesn't know if she is going to have $100 a week to spend or $25 a week to spend, it's a horrible trauma. I can say with all my heart that Freda and I sometimes didn't know where the next paycheck was coming from but she was completely with me. So if your wife isn't with you 150 percent, forget about it because you're not going to be able to do it."
In 1953 the couple purchased what Sam Maloof referred to as "a shack, and I mean a shack" in Alta Loma, Calif. The property included a chicken house that he couldn't stand up in, but nonetheless became his new shop. Located in a citrus grove with a beautiful view of the San Gabriel Mountains, the property proved to be an inspiration for the woodworker for nearly 50 years. Maloof noted that surviving those early years gave him a source of strength.
No production pieces
Maloof has always refused to sell his furniture designs for production use, despite being offered large sums of money. Twice he was offered $2 million for his designs but said no. One of the earliest examples of his resistance to build for the masses came in 1957 at the first Conference of American Craftsman in Carmel, Calif. Maloof recalls a conversation in a room with about 10 people, including Charles Eames, Wharton Escherick, Walker Weed, John Kapel, Art Carpenter and Bob Stocksdale.
"One man said to me that I was going down the wrong track trying to make handmade furniture, it just doesn't work. I said if Charles Eames wants to design bowls out of plastic and sell them by the thousands, I think that's his privilege. As for me, I'd rather make individual pieces, starving at the same time, you know?
"Well, Wharton Esherick came up to me and he was a real right-to-the-point man. He said, 'Young man, come here. I want to talk to you.' I'm scared to death and he said, 'I heard what you said and I heard it loudly. You stick to your guns. Don't you ever change.' And that has stayed with me all my life."
Maloof was more punctual on the subject in an interview with journalist Tom Hogan. He was asked to sit on a stool and give one-word answers to Hogan's questions. Maloof was uncomfortable about the prospect but was willing to give it a try.
"He started throwing questions at me and then he got to one and said, 'I've heard that you turned down an awful lot of money that would have made you pretty independent. You turned it down. Why?' And I said, 'Prostitute.' He just about fell off his stool. I felt that way. I didn't want to prostitute myself and get paid for something that I didn't make. I've been offered all kinds of things from different companies and I've said no to them. I think it would have destroyed me."
Technique
If there is anyone that epitomizes the self-taught woodworker, it is Maloof. His unorthodox style of cutting wood on a band saw is well-known. The technique may not be considered proper - he says he didn't know any better when he started - but it's worked for him for nearly six decades.
"I had a group from Palomar College here [recently] and they wanted to watch me do an arm. I just picked up a piece of wood - I don't mark it - I start cutting it off and shaving it and in five minutes I had an arm all made. I kept saying, 'Please don't do this, it's the most dangerous thing in the world.' They asked, 'Well, why do you do it?' I said I didn't know any better; I was self-taught. When I do it I'm very, very careful. I always have the wood on the table and I hold it. My hands are out far so if anything happens I'd rather cut the arm in half than me."
Maloof has three longtime employees - Larry White (20 years), Mike Johnson (24 years), and David Wade (16 years) - which he refers to as "the boys" (see sidebar). Maloof says he wouldn't know what to do without his business manager, Roslyn Bock.
Maloof's son Slimen (Sammy) worked with his father for many years and now runs his own shop. The origin of hard lines in Maloof's furniture developed as a result of work by his son - well, sort of.
"I think it happened when I was doing a little chair, it was sort of a rounded thing, and Sammy came up and said, 'Boy dad, I really screwed up on this thing.' I said well, let's take a look and maybe we can save it. I took a round file and I dug into it - concave - and I liked it. That's what got me going on the hard line."
The Alta Loma shop is divided into two buildings. Most of the time Maloof, White and Johnson work in one building while Wade works in an adjacent building. The shop is not packed with tools and machinery as one might expect. There are three band saws, an Agazzani 32" model, a 24" Agazzani band saw for resawing, and a Polish-made no-name band saw. Other tools and machines include a Powermatic table saw, General wide belt sander, Mini Max FS 41 elite jointer/planer, Woodtek 20" disc sander, Davis & Wells lathe, an old Delta lathe and a Delta drill press.
Maloof has about 500,000 bf of lumber that is stored in two buildings. He routinely receives calls from people and suppliers who have trees of difficult-to-find woods, particularly claro walnut.
"I don't hoard wood; I use it," he stated.
Chairs
If the master has a signature piece, it has to be the rocking chair. It has been copied by many, but the knock-off rockers displayed at furniture shows don't bother him. He considers it a form of flattery.
"It doesn't bother me. ... most of them refer to it as a Maloof design. We all have to make a living at it."
Maloof loves making chairs, and points out that every chair is independently made. When embarking on making a new chair, he says it's exciting to build a chair that is going to be better than the previous one. But he admits that some of his favorite pieces are his very first chairs, made more than 55 years ago.
"In chairs, I have a mental drawing in my head of what I want to do and I'll go ahead and make the chair. A lot of times I don't make sketches. I sketch in my head as I'm making it.
"When I talk to a client, the main thing I look for is a chair that is very comfortable, that gives you very good lower back support. When you sit, you sit comfortably. When you get up, you get up comfortably without making all kinds of wiggles to get out of the chair. And the same with a rocking chair. I want the rocking chair so it doesn't throw you back or forward, and I want to give it lower back support."
Maloof's chair designs have changed slightly through the years - he uses the word "refined" - but his criteria remains the same. If it feels comfortable for him to sit in, then it's ready for the customer.
"I make chairs to suit me and not the client. I design them for myself and they just seem to work out. I don't think I've ever made a chair that I didn't think was comfortable to me. I've refined my designs over the years but I've never followed ads or trends. I've been my own person.
"I'm still making my same stuff while so many woodworkers, potters, whatever, keep changing and I felt that I had to be true to myself and I wanted to do what I do and not what somebody else was doing."
Joinery & finishing
Maloof's use of screws in his joinery, particularly in chairs, has fanned some criticism through the years. He covers the screws with plugs, usually ebony, which just add to his unique style.
"There was a fellow here the other day and he said, 'You use screws in your chairs,' and I kind of laughed. Then he said, 'You know, you're not a purist.' I said, 'Yes, I use screws in places in my chairs,' and I asked him if he had ever tried to remove a screw out of a piece of wood. He said, 'No,' and I said 'You try it.'
"I just had an accident, I put a screw through a piece of wood - I must have been daydreaming - and we had a miserable time trying to back that screw out. The screw is nothing but a metal dowel. No one sees them; they're all hidden. I put it together the way I think. When I go in through the back there, there's no way I can put a dowel in there. There's no way I can put a joint. I have a dowel up in front and a 4" screw, and if you try to take that out, there's just no way it will come out."
Maloof's employees sand to 400 grit, then use 00000 steel wool to create a very fine surface. Then they take a very soft rag - a sort of toweling - and run it over very carefully.
"Then we use my own finish that Rockler sells - one-third glossy varnish, one-third boiled linseed oil, one-third tung oil. I use that on everything, tabletops and all," he said. For casegoods, he uses one-half boiled linseed oil and one-half tung oil with beeswax.
"For rosewood and ziricote, I just use wax because it won't soak in. It looks great, then it dries out and then I go, 'Oh my God, what have I done to this?' "
One more story
Sitting down with Maloof in his home, it seems as though every question leads to a story, told with a mixture of sincerity, honesty and humor. His stories are captivating, even though some are unsolicited. Here's one example:
"The most that I ever had a thing sell for was for $6,500 - an elliptical dining table with wooden hinges and eight chairs made out of Brazilian rosewood," he recalled. "The lady who had it for years, her husband had died and she loaned it to me for the [2001] Smithsonian exhibit. She said she'd like to give it to the Smithsonian and she asked if I thought they'd accept it. I said, 'Oh, I'm sure they will.' So I called and they said they'd love to have it. So I called her and she said,'Well, I need a $100,000 tax write-off.' So the Smithsonian said they would talk to their appraiser. About a week later this appraiser called and he says, 'Sam, I know your work but I've never had to appraise it and I have no idea what you get but I know it's expensive. Do you think $250,000 would be all right?' I laughed and said I'd go to a half-million. And he said, 'Well, that's what I thought but let me think about it. About a week later he called back and said, 'How is $450,000?' So she got her $450,000 tax write-off. I tell these stories because I think they are amusing. It makes me feel good."
Foundation
Maloof received the prestigious MacArthur Award in 1985, and donated most of the prize money to set up scholarships. He felt that the award not only recognized his talent, but the talent of woodworkers in general. Although he is reluctant to talk about it, Maloof has become a philanthropist. Schools, colleges, churches and individuals have all benefited from his generosity through the Sam and Alfreda Maloof Foundation.
When his home and shop were designated for demolition to make room for a freeway ramp, Maloof was forced to move, literally piece by piece, in 2001. He found a 6-acre lot in Alta Loma, just a few miles from the site of his previous house and shop. The new property contains the old home, which has been converted into a museum that is open to the public Thursdays and Saturdays. His new home is extraordinary, with a three-story great room filled with his furniture and extensive collection of American Indian art. Plans are under way to build a gallery.
"We're setting up on building a big gallery that will have four small galleries, a big rotunda and a big room that we're using for the annex, a fireproof room where we can put all our stuff that we're not showing. We've given it to the foundation. I have lifetime occupancy of the whole place and it's mine. And then Beverly has lifetime occupancy, and then after she's gone, all of our collection will go to the foundation. This [new house] will be a museum, the [old house] is a museum and there will be the big gallery."
Maloof is candid when talking about the future. The shop will continue to exist after he dies, and will be divided six ways among Beverly Maloof, Slimen Maloof, White, Johnson, Wade and Bock. But before any of that happens, there will certainly be more original designs and furniture from Sam Maloof in the next 10 good years.