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Hello! My name is John Coleman and I want to welcome you to my web site. I am quite excited to be able to share with you my passion for designing and creating wood furniture. When a client wants a new design I immediately start to see the creation in my mind’s eye. Developing the creation from our respective imaginations is just plain exciting!
Let me tell you a little bit about who I am and my background in this exciting art.
I am a lifelong resident of Luray, VA, a small town of 5,000 located 1 ½ hours West of Washington, D.C. in the heart of the Shenandoah valley. I started First Forest Furniture and Design in Luray, VA in 1989 after I completed my education in architecture at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte. Luray is central to most larger metropolitan areas on the East Coast yet the costs of doing business here are so much less. This allows me to be very price competitive in the execution of my designs. For the past sixteen years I have been actively designing and building fine furniture and other wood products for clients up and down the East Coast from Charlotte to Boston.
My designs and furniture have been exhibited and judged at many exhibitions. A few of those are:
1992 - Wood Design V
National Juried Exhibition, Middle Street Gallery, Washington, VA
1994 - Table, Lamp, and Chair
International Juried Exhibition, Portland AIA Portland, OR
One of my favorite projects was the historic restoration of the Locust Grove Inn in Luray. I was contracted by a local historian to reproduce and restore this historic site which was originally built in 1760. I was responsible for reproduction of the wainscoting, molding, stair parts, flooring, hand rails, 4,000 square feet of beaded siding, and doors created from photographs and documentation.
My furniture designs can be found in homes and offices all over the United States including San Francisco, Aspen, CO, Ft. Lauderdale, Atlanta, Charlotte, N.C., Modesto, CA and New York City.
First Forest has just moved into a brand new 4,000 sq. ft. facility. Large and spacious, the space encourages great work! My artisans and I urge you to allow us to build the furniture of your dreams. We really do make dreams come true!
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