Copying Classics
By Lucie Amundsen
Photo by Tony Kubalak
A walk through his Eagan living room filled with his ornate creations makes clear that Kubalak didn’t wait idly for a job offer. Having “cut wood for 20 years,” he used his unsought free time to locate mentors who shared his passion. He attended woodworking classes in Pennsylvania to learn about complex historic styles, such as the swooping forms of Queen Anne and the boxy and embellished Chippendale approach, both dating to the 1700s. With time, his avocation became his primary pursuit.
His approach is meticulous. He creates replicas of antique pieces by taking measurements and studying details of museum originals and drawing up plans scaled from exhibition or auction guides. Far from creating a “reproduction piece” with modern methods, Kubalak uses the techniques and types of tools employed when these chairs, tables, and secretaries were originally constructed. He does use modern tools to make the initial basic cuts, and then hand carves the rest. The differences in appearance, though subtle, are apparent to connoisseurs. “And just like the original pieces, I expect my furniture will be around 250 years from now,” says Kubalak.
He was drawn to eighteenth-century styles because of the skill involved in creating the ornate pieces. Fluted shells and ball and claw feet aren’t for everybody, however. “It’s not unlike an appreciation for the music of the time,” he says. “People have been playing classical music for 250 years. You just got to think they were doing something right back then.”
Kubalak’s customers willingly pay for his refined technique. His Chippendale dining chairs, for example, sell for about $7,000 each. “Only a handful of people will be so moved by early American decorative arts that they’ll commission a chair or a table that will take me six or more weeks to produce,” he says, “but they’re out there.” The larger case good pieces can take up to a year to complete.
Besides woodworking shows, see Kubalak’s work at Classic House Supply in Minneapolis, or at www.tonykubalak.com.
LUCIE AMUNDSEN IS A MINNEAPOLIS FREELANCE WRITER.
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