Sourland Cabinet. Made of walnut, bloodwood, maple, wenge, padauk, ameranth and rosewood. 68" high by 21" wide by 20" deep.

TCR: When and how did you begin to sell your work?

JH: I started to sell my furniture immediately. I received my first commissions [from people who I showed that first cabinet to] shortly before the exhibit at the New Jersey State Museum, and things have been consistent since then. Every piece of furniture I have made has sold. In fact, we do not own any of my furniture other than my first piece.

I work principally on a commission basis these days. Furniture making is the most labor-intensive of the contemporary crafts. There is far too much time, materials, and overhead, tied up in a single piece of my furniture to work any other way. I have found that most furniture makers who make speculative work are subsidized, that is to say, by a working spouse, or are teaching or have some other means.

TCR: What challenges did you face in the beginning?

JH: My greatest challenge now, as it was in the beginning, is time. Since furniture making is so labor-intensive, a single piece can take months to complete, and I feel that my development as an artist is slower. An artist in another medium can create dozens of works in a year, refining their skills. The seven to 10 important pieces I can make in the same time frame means a considerably slower development.

Felicity's Cabinet. Made of walnut, mahogany, wenge, cocobola, rosewood and Gabon ebony. 70" high by 41" wide by 10 1/2" deep.

TCR: Who is the market for your work? How do you reach them?

JH: The collectors who purchase and commission my work almost always have a strong emotional response to it. They are not necessarily all wealthy. Some will make economic sacrifices to purchase a piece.

I am able to reach collectors first through word of mouth and recommendations by others. Many collectors continue to commission pieces year after year. They give me a base of support.

I also reach new collectors by keeping my name turning up in magazines and newspapers through publicity efforts. The late Betty Freudenheim, a writer for The New York Times, told me before she died to keep my name [in the media]. She said it doesn't matter where, and it doesn't matter what they write; people really won't remember where they read it or what was written; but they will remember your name. Since then (1996), I have been through a number of personal difficulties and life changes, and only in the past year have I had the time to take advantage of her advice.

Since 1995 collectors have been able to reach me through my Web site on the Internet. I also advertise in The Guild Sourcebooks. And lastly, I participate in museum and gallery exhibitions whenever I can.

TCR: Your work is promoted in Europe by an art gallery and design organization in The Netherlands. How did this come about?

JH: My relationship with House of Design in the Netherlands started in 1997. They really were excited about my work when they saw it on the Internet; however, they hated my Web site, which was slow and flat. Since I had done the Web site myself, I did not realize how bad it was, and so we started out disagreeing. We soon became friends through correspondence, though, and they made me a member of their design consortium and art gallery in Groningen, and they completely re-made my Web site. My relationship with them has been wonderful, and I've learned a lot of new Dutch words!

Writing Desk. Made of walnut, wenge, yew, chakte kok, amaranth, pau almarello and imbuya. 35" high by 41" wide by 20" deep.

TCR: You were also selected for "The Design Encyclopedia" listing of "Eminent Furniture Designers." ... Is this a strictly invitational selection, or did you apply to it?

JH: When I learned of their project, I wrote to the scholars who were compiling this information, detailing my accomplishments -- that is to say, the number of awards and fellowships [I had earned] within a relatively short period of time, the strength of my exhibitions (many with the furniture makers already included in the book), and the unique nature of my work. To my surprise, they included me.

TCR: What have been the major turning points throughout your career?

JH: The greatest came in May 1990 with my participation in American Craft at the Armory, at the Seventh Regiment Armory in New York. This was my first opportunity to try to sell my work myself, that is to say, non-commissioned work. I was able to make a number of speculative pieces with the funds I had previously received from a New Jersey State Council on the Arts fellowship. I sold every one of the seven pieces and received two commissions over those four days. This proved to me that it is not that hard to sell my work, and that I should try to be more independent and less reliant on galleries. It gave me a great deal of confidence.

My confidence was reinforced that summer when I received a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Writing Desk. Made of walnut, wenge, yew, chakte kok, amaranth, pau almarello and imbuya. 35" high by 41" wide by 20" deep.

TCR: What, in terms of business insight, have you learned over the years?

JH: I have learned over the years to, if possible, have someone else handle the business matters. My wife, Christine, handles all business affairs freeing me to concentrate on my work.

TCR: Do you see any disadvantages or advantages specific to furniture makers?

JH: There are a great many challenges to being a furniture maker. As I said, it is very labor-intensive. The slowness of the creation process and the high cost of maintaining a woodworking studio makes it necessary for me to sell every piece. I receive less exposure simply because there are fewer pieces to put on exhibit.

Furniture also remains more strictly tied to use than other media, limiting the form a piece of furniture can take. Each new design is a development risk, requiring engineering knowledge beyond artistic vision.