By JON BAKER

PAWTUCKET — Like his studio on Montgomery Street, Peter Trumbull Crellin is modest and unassuming, though one may not say the same of his ability to create wooden works of art.

This 33-year-old native of Sherborn, Mass. considers himself — at this point — just another furniture/cabinet maker. He nevertheless admits he aspires to be known for his genuine creations.
Truth be told, he’s only maintained his own business for about seven years now, but does have his own line of originals.
“I work with wood to produce playfully sculptural, flowing forms, which tease the eye, intrigue people and make them smile,” he said from his workshop on Friday afternoon. “Though sculptural in form and often complex in construction, I hope to keep my work lighthearted in concept.
“The inspiration for my designs is rooted more solidly in the realm of fantasy than in the stylistic rigidity imposed by tradition,” he added. “I favor the influences of Dr. Seuss, Lewis Carroll or Disney over the Sheratons and Chippendales of furniture history.”
Simply put, his style is to bend thin layers of woods — including mahogany, walnut and maple -- around a form to assemble such curled, wavy pieces as mirror frames, chairs, bar-like stools, coffee tables and the like. At the same time, he builds custom furniture, among the items desks, kitchen and dining room tables, chests of drawers, entertainment centers, etc.
Crellin does have a few favorites. One is a wall mirror he calls the “Fairest,” and the name, he states, didn’t come from him. Another is a “Dama” armchair.
“People see that mirror frame, and they liken it to the one in Snow White; you know, ‘Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall,’” he chuckled. “The armchair, they say, reminds them of something out of ‘Alice in Wonderland.’ I design these things out of my own mind, and viewers put their own spin on what they see.
“My studio work is driven primarily by a passion for working with fine wood veneers, whether it’s in the context of pressing bent-lamination cores over a form, or in assembling graphic, knife-cut marquetry patterns,” he added. “My use of veneer laminations as a decorative effect, integrated with hand-sculpted solid wood components, often give my furniture the appearance of being melted or extruded, as though fashioned from metal or plastic.”
Amazing thing is, Crellin — as a teenager — never chased such a “trade.” After growing up west of Boston, he moved to the Cape, graduating from Barnstable High School in 1993. Just a few months later, he began attending the University of Massachusetts-Amherst to study anthropology, though his true interest lay in archaeology.
Prior to his junior year, he decided to spend two semesters “abroad” at the University of Sheffield in northern England.
“In the United States, archaeology is a subset of anthropology,” he said. “At colleges and universities overseas, they’re separate fields -- that is, majors. I liked the hands-on aspects of archaeology, and the methodology of it, not to mention the fact the history of man is so fascinating … When it came time to head home or stay at Sheffield, I couldn’t bear to leave. I had met too many friends, and I loved the atmosphere.”
Crellin graduated with a bachelor’s of arts in archaeology in 1997, but claimed he knew beforehand that landing a job in the field would be tremendously difficult, so gravitated back to working with wood.
“Between the ages of 8-16, I had worked for an antiques auctioneer in Sherborn; a man who was a neighbor of mine,” he stated. “In doing that, I had developed a love for antique furniture. It was apparent archaeology wasn’t going to allow for a future. There’s an image of archaeologists being like Indiana Jones, digging in the dirt all the time and searching for exciting finds, but that’s only a fraction of it, so I went to work for a series of antique dealers and auctioneers. That’s how I started learning some of the restoration procedures.
“What I always liked about furniture building was, like archaeology, the hands-on aspect,” he continued.
In about 1999, he returned to his home Bay State and began an apprenticeship with known furniture makers J.M. Syron and Bonnie Bishoff in Rockport, Mass.
“They exposed me to different methodologies and ideas,” Crellin noted. “I was restoring antiques, and I began thinking about building my own furniture. The apprenticeship opened my eyes to building contemporary studio furniture, my own inspired designs.”

How Crellin found a studio in Pawtucket is another story altogether.
He had married an English woman, Naomi, while overseas, and she now is in the process of earning a Master’s in interior architecture from the Rhode Island School of Design. The couple moved to Providence in September 2006, and he looked high and low for a professional workshop to call his own.
“I had talked to Herb Weiss (Pawtucket’s economic and cultural affairs officer) before we moved here, and he told me Pawtucket was very arts-conscious,” he offered. “He also told me a lot of crafts-type people had gravitated to it. When I first saw it, I thought it was a funky little city with a lot to offer.”
When asked whether his business was thriving in these hard economic times, he grinned, “We’re doing pretty well, myself and my full-time assistant. I sell directly to homeowners, and I’m able to do that through word of mouth, but I also go to two or three craft shows a year.”
They include the Fine Furnishings & Fine Craft Shows in Providence (and will attend again this Oct. 24-26 at the R.I. Convention Center); the Philadelphia Furniture & Furnishings Show; CraftBoston; and the American Craft Council-Baltimore Wholesale/Retail Show.
“I bring the pieces with me, and that allows me to sell them right off the floor,” he said. “As I said, the use of bent lamination gives the furniture a ‘stretch’ effect, and people often respond enthusiastically. Their reaction is to put their hands on the pieces and say, ‘How the heck did you do it?’ And I tell them: It’s just made up of a lot of thin layers built over a form. I also say it’s easier than one would think.”
As for his custom work, he’s collaborated with Naomi on interior designs, where she creates what, say, a bathroom should look like -- based on a customer’s wishes -- and Crellin builds the cabinetry, etc.
“My dream is to gain some recognition for the original designs and to continue to grow the interiors side of the business,” he said. “We want to be able to build both the original and custom sides simultaenously. Of course, I couldn’t do it without my wife.”