h ave th e larg e st su ch c o lle ctio n in th e w o rld ,
w ith m o re th an 500 p ie c e s . “ A r t sh o u ld
s lo w life d o w n and c re a te a p e r fe c t m in d /
b o d y relatio n sh ip fo r th e a rtist,” he says.
“ W h e n y o u in sert a m ach in e b e tw e e n th at,
th e relatio n sh ip can b e co m p ro m ise d .”
G a in in g clien ts b y w o r d o f m ou th , he
b u ilt va rio u s classic p ie ce s, in clu d in g L o u is
X IV d esks w ith cu rv ed legs sh o w in g fleur-
de-lis and su n b u rsts, and lea th er to p s w ith
g o ld o rn a m en ta tio n . H e also m ade cu stom -
o rd e re d m irro rs, ta b le s, ch airs, co n so les
and co m m o d es. H e fa v o re d w o o d u se d in
th e fu rn itu re at V e rs a ille s —m o stly ro s e -
w o o d , m ah ogan y and B ra zilia n tu lip w o o d .
In 2000, P in a q u y m arried K a re n A d n o ff,
a lan d scap e a rc h ite c t, and th e in sp iratio n
fo r his m agn u m o p u s e m e rg e d . O v e r th e
p ast fe w y e a rs h e sp e n t m o re than 1,200
h o u rs m a k in g a d ra ftin g ta b le fo r A d n o ff
“ th a t I e n v is io n e d co u ld b e sh o w n in
V e r s a ille s ,” h e says.
Right: A detail of the
brass drafting arm that
was gold-plated and
burnished in Paris.
Below: Pinaquy at-
tached this “toothed”
gear, which is operated
by the long screw, to
allow users to change
the angle of the tabletop.
Opposite and bottom
right: The drafting table
Patrice Pinaquay com-
pleted in 2009 for his
wife, Karen Adnoff,
a landscape architect.
The wood is white oak,
with silver, ebony and
tulipwood veneers.
The leather top, em-
bossed with gold leaf,
was set in Paris. The
view of the underside
shows the gold-plated
brass drafting arm, lift-
ing arms and hinges. The
table is
2V2
x
6V2 x
3 ft.
T h e resu lt is an ex tra o rd in ary and fu lly
fu n ctio n a l p ie ce th at ap p raisers say m ay
be w o rth m ore than $100,000. P in a q u y d e -
sign ed it, b u ild in g th e leg s first, sem icircu lar
arch es m ade o f q u arter-saw n w h ite oak.
H e h and -cu t v e n e e rs to an eigh th o f an in ch ,
and then inlaid them w ith silv e r and tu lip -
w o o d u sin g b eef-h id e glu e . T h e h o rizo n tal
cro ssb ars are m ade o f o a k , w ith e b o n y
and silv e r ve n e e rs and fit in to th e leg s w ith
d o v e ta il jo in ts. T h e so lid -w o o d to p w as
se n t to P a ris to h a v e le a th e r, em b o sse d
w ith g o ld le a f, se t in b y an a rtist w h o
had ju s t c o m p le te d sim ila r w o r k fo r th e
F re n ch p arliam en t.
T h e final and to u g h e st p art w a s d e sig n -
in g , m akin g and a ttach in g th e m ech an ics.
P in a q u y d esig n e d a g e ar w ith te eth u n d er-
n eath to a llo w th e to p to b e raise d and
lo w e re d . M e ch a n ica l d ra ftin g arm s w e r e
atta ch ed on to p . P in a q u y c u t th e brass
m ech an ics w ith a je w e lr y sa w , filed them
b y h and and sen t th e m , a lo n g w ith th e
sc re w s and brass fe e t, to P aris to b e gold-
p lated . H e then b u rn ish ed th em b y ru b b in g
th e th ick g o ld p la tin g w ith an agate sto n e.
N o w , P in a q u y h o p e s to p ass on his
sk ills. H e and A d n o f f re c e n tly p u rch ased
a 40 0 -year-o ld ch ate a u so u th o f P a ris.
T h ro u g h a n o n p ro fit o rgan izatio n th e y re-
c e n tly c re a te d , th e y plan to raise m o n e y
to b rin g tran sition al-aged A m e ric a n fo s te r-
care y o u th to th e ch ateau . A s a p p re n tice s,
th e stu d e n ts w ill le a rn w o o d w o r k in g ,
sto n e -c a rv in g and o th e r m ark etab le sk ills.
“ W e are p assio n ate ab ou t th is,” h e says.
“ P a ssin g th e art, h e rita g e and c ra ftsm a n -
sh ip to o th ers is o u r d ream , o u r w a y o f
g iv in g b a c k .” +
M ichael Bowker, the author o f 12 books and
countless articles, lives in Santa Barbara, CA.
oct/nov 10 american craft 029
