back to reviews
page 1 page 2 page 3

Artisans for the 21st Century

Bryce Ritter, furniture maker.

Once an engineer, Bryce now searches southeast Pennsylvania for antique doors, windows, hardware, and wood to make reproduction furnishings in his own folk art style. "When I cut beading or molding, it's not absolutely perfect because I'm using antique tools and doing it by hand," he says. Bryce finishes many pieces with milk paint in period hues of red, blue, mustard, and green. Often, the materials tell a story that Bryce is careful to preserve. "Some of the wood is 150 or 200 years old," he says. "I just steel wool it and wax it to bring out the patina."