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Alex Geriner of Doorman polishes a walnut double pedestal dining room table called the Amelia in his West Bank studio.
STAFF PHOTO BY MAX BECHERER
Polished modern, antique and rustic: 3 New Orleans craftsmen make their own styles of wooden furniture
BY R. STEPHANIE BRUNO
Handmade wooden furniture is built to last, so you might say it's a fitting product for craftsmen in this city that's been around for 300 years. The look doesn't have to be dated, though.
Three furniture designers/makers demonstrate the evolution and the breadth of styles and talent right here in New Orleans.
Southern-modern style
Alex Geriner says he knows precisely when Doorman — his furniture company — took the step that made it what it is today, a creator of "Southern modern" wood and metal furniture.
“The first few years we were in business, we relied exclusively on salvaged wood and made furniture I would describe today as somewhat rustic,” he said. “In fact, the first headboard I ever made was a paneled cypress door laid on its side.”
The company's pivot point came in 2015, when Lauren Mabry, of Hunter Mabry Designs, invited Geriner to collaborate with her in designing and producing furniture for the luxe Henry Howard Hotel in the Lower Garden District.
“I thought it would be a fun project that I could learn from," said Geriner, "but I was caught off-guard by the response to the furniture.”
After the hotel opened in 2016, guests would call the front desk and ask about the furniture in their rooms, enchanted by the sleek steel Josephine bed. They wanted to know how they could get one for their own bedrooms. There were enough calls that Geriner kept making the beds and added them to his public offerings.
“As it turned out, it was getting harder and harder to get the kind of reclaimed wood we’d been using before, plus market interest was changing,” Geriner said. "The hotel project was a wonderful chance to try something new that was still firmly rooted in New Orleans.”
With names like Clio, Julia, Hampson, Josephine, Eleanor and Octavia, the furniture on the website (doormandesigns.com) includes beds, night stands, dining tables, desks and chairs. The firm has not abandoned wood but uses it differently in today’s designs: a slab of black walnut for a headboard or lightly stained reclaimed cypress for a console. Geriner also continues to work with designers, including Sherry Shirah, of Sherry Shirah Designs, in collaborative ventures and to custom-make pieces they require for their projects.
“Sherry and I designed the Audubon table — we call it Scandinavian meets California-cool style,” he said.
Geriner has been able to add skilled craftsmen to his crew, which today totals seven. And after his business outgrew its rented workspace, Geriner purchased a 6,000-square-foot shop on Brooklyn Avenue in Algiers.