Crafting a niche

Published 9:44 am Thursday, October 2, 2008

Snoqualmie resident John Kettman is gaining nationwide notice for his skills as a handcrafter of fine furniture in a tradition hundreds of years old.

Employing the tools and techniques of the 17th and 18th centuries, Kettman’s focus is on English and French furniture of those periods in time.

He was lucky enough to get his 1710-era Queen Anne bureau cabinet featured in the April 2007 edition of Fine Woodworking magazine.

That was a rare coup, since the magazine gets about 2,000 furniture submissions per issue, Kettman said.

Kettman, 29, grew up in Auburn and has resided in Snoqualmie for five years.

Kettman came late to the trade and never took woodshop or drafting as a boy. About five years ago, when Kettman was getting married, his bachelor party consisted of him and his buddies getting together to build a Shaker-style chair.

The wood work unlocked a new interest in Kettman, blooming into a career.

“It just intrigued me in a way that other work hadn’t,” he said.

“I was always very creative,” said Kettman, who worked as a massage therapist before beginning his new career. “I just never had an outlet for it until I started this.”

Kettman completed the Northern California-based Masterpiece School’s three-year program in 18 months, attended the American School of French Marquetry and started selling his pieces as a student, creating a line of English country furniture.

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