Charles Thompson photographed by Mark Adams.

Charles Thompson is the recipient of Boston’s Society of Arts + Crafts’ 2024 John D. Mineck Furniture Fellowship, a nationally recognized award given annually to an early-career furniture artist. Thompson, who lives in western Massachusetts, holds a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and a master of fine arts in writing from The New School in New York.

Congratulations on the fellowship! What does it mean to you to be recognized for this award?

Thank you so much. I’m truly honored to have been awarded the fellowship and still a bit taken aback. It presents a unique opportunity for people working as furniture makers and offers them a chance to restructure their working lives in a new context. I’m excited to build something from it.

The Mineck Fellowship comes with an unrestricted $25,000 prize. Do you have plans to use this prize to further your work?

I do. My tools are almost all refurbished, my materials are usually pulled straight from the forest and my studio is located in a barn that’s a bit the worse for wear. I fly pretty low to the ground. Working under constraints can be helpful, and for me I think it has been. But now I think I’ll be able to maneuver around some of them. The thing I’m most excited about is investing in my studio. I plan to develop it into a space that can host classes.

How did you first get into woodworking?

I’m pretty much self-taught. I started very slowly. At first, it was a way to avoid other work, or at least not think about it for a moment. I liked that there was a tangible object at the end of the day. It helped that I enjoyed finding, restoring and learning old tools, too — for a while I was doing that more than actual woodworking. Then it became part-time work, then once I started teaching, I leapt into it full time.

What inspires you now?

On the best days a coffee or a song will do it. In the winter, it’s the thought of spring. I like to think about representations of divinity and nature and a lot of that means looking backwards at old ways of making. At the same time, many of my friends — people in the field who love similar things and work in parallel — help me to understand what’s possible and generate a lot of excitement.

How does your unique background inform your craft?

I’d say that for better or worse I don’t necessarily feel attached to a particular woodworking tradition. There’s no fealty to any process. I’d say part of that has to do with being self-taught rather than formally trained. Part of that also probably has to do with being multiracial — each side of my family has its own narrative that has to be understood in its own context. And the last part is that I’m very much a New Englander who’s lived among a very old American furniture tradition for decades. I’d like to think I’m able to hold all of these things at arm’s length and focus on their meeting point.

Work examples courtesy of Charles Thompson.

How would you characterize the furniture you make?

I mostly make chairs and, if I can, I do it straight from the tree. I use a lot of old techniques but like to think that I do so partially in service of iterating something new.

What makes your furniture different from other pieces folks can purchase?

It’s all made by hand, and it’s all done one at a time. Even among my own work, the pieces are pretty distinct. By considering each object that way, not only do they end up unique, but they should also have some integrity to them. It would be great if they could outlast me — so far so good!

Could you tell us a little about the organization you are a part of and what your role is like?

Right now, I’m serving on the board of directors at a nonprofit called The Chairmaker’s Toolbox. It offers people who might have been underrepresented in the craft scholarship spots in classes and relays donated tools to new users. Mainly, I deal with tool donations and collections. If anyone out there has any well-loved tools that could use a new home, let me know!

In addition to crafting exceptional pieces of furniture, you also teach workshops in woodworking and carving. What’s the audience like for these classes?

I travel a bit to teach so the audience can vary depending on the venue. That’s really fun for me. It ends up being a pretty diverse group that way. One thing I’ve noticed, in general, is that my classes are less homogenous than I would have thought in terms of gender.

Where do you think your craft will go from here?

I don’t know exactly, and that’s very exciting. In terms of my creative practice, I try not to think too far past the next big project or two. I’m looking forward to those. I don’t know if it’ll always be this way (though I hope it will be), but every couple of projects feels somewhat transformative and points me in a new direction. I like that — to always feel at the beginning.

Do you have a shop or accept commissions?

Until recently my work was available to purchase at a local gallery. It has since closed, but if people are interested in my work, I encourage them to contact me directly. I do take commissions!

How can our readers see more of your work?

I’m on Instagram @charles_thompson_would and my website is www.charlesthompson.net.

—Carly Timpson