Transformers, or Making Custom Furniture

There are many times when a customer asks if I can make a bed for them like one I've made before, except in king-size rather than queen ("Of course," I say); or a table in pau ferro rather than another rosewood ("I'd be delighted"); or a cupboard filled with drawers instead of the doors ("No problem!"). My portfolio is littered with examples of transforming the directives of one customer into the desires of another; here's one series:

But sometimes I get more difficult tranformational challenges.  I recently received an email from a woman who liked one of my chairs, and wanted me to turn it into two guitar stands. Hmmm. I scratched my head for a while, then I realized I better figure out what she liked about the chair so I could incorporate it into the stands. It was the Art Deco feel of chair that was most appealing, and she thought the eye was pretty cool, too. I began to do some research on guitar stands, then started sketching some ideas; the best ones I sent to my customer. After a few back-and-forths we abandoned the eye because the stands looked a little spooky, but we kept the shape of the back of the chair and its Deco lineage. Here's the chair, and the finished stands:

The stands will soon be winging their way to Colorado.