March 29, 2024

Kirby finds his groove

Feb. 21, 2007
He’s been making furniture almost as long as he’s been making music, but Kirby Snively finally seems to have found his groove. Combining rustic and contemporary elements of woodworking, he’s created a high-end, “contempo-rustic” look, all his own.
Born and raised in Northern Michigan, Snively and his sister Kelli, also a well-known artist in the area, inherited their father James’s artistic skills. Upon graduation from Harbor Springs High School, Snively headed to Kendall College of Art and Design in Grand Rapids, graduating with a degree in furniture design in 1982.
“When I got out of school I started to try to find a direction,” says Snively, “and it’s been over 20 years, and I think I’m finally finding a direction.”
Wanting to make it as an artist in the furniture business by avoiding designs easily duplicated at a factory, Snively concentrated on what the woods around him had to offer.
“I started to toss around the idea of combining these fine woodworking techniques with rustic ideas, because there were already plenty of rustic furniture builders.”
The result? His contempo-rustic furniture featured in a one-man show last October at Cross Village’s Three Pines Gallery and the freedom that comes with being a successful, independent artist.

INSPIRATION
It’s no surprise that Snively built the family home in the woods near Good Hart, where he lives with his wife of 10 years, Betrina, an East Coast transplant he met while entertaining in the U.S. Virgin Islands one winter, and his boys, Eli and Rigel.
The home, in need of a planned addition, is filled with Snively’s custom handmade furniture: a sleigh bed, blanket chest, kids’ desks and dining table.
Similar pieces are available locally at galleries such as the Whistling Moose, Quarters, Three Pines Gallery and the Crooked Tree Arts Center, and custom orders can be placed with interior designers at Quiet Moose, Cedar Creek Interiors or with Snively himself.
“I get inspired by a lot of people,” says Snively, “but there’s nothing new, really it’s just how you regroup the elements and come up with something different.”
He has long admired the work of celebrated California furniture designer Sam Maloof, who’s still creating at 91.
“His designs are kind of Scandinavian, real graceful curves and really beautiful stuff,” says Snively. “I kind of based some of my earlier designs on trying to do what he does, which is not easy.”
A trip to Paris two years ago and a visit to the Art Nouveau exhibit at the Musée d’Orsay impressed Snively, and inspires him to strive for similar achievements in terms of construction, aesthetics and functionality.

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE WOOD
Working with wood presents certain challenges – availability, cost, dryness.
“Wood is a living being,” explains Snively. “You have to be real careful about how dry it is.” Moisture content in pieces varies widely, from as much as 100 percent down to eight – the ideal for building. “[Wood] continues to grow and shrink with the seasons, and everything you build has to take that into consideration.”
In his wood-heated shop, Snively is able to store a fair amount of wood, bringing pieces inside to dry out, a little at a time.
“You always have to be one step ahead of yourself, to build something. I’m using lumber that I’ve had stored inside for several weeks. Once I use that, I’ll bring some more in from outside - keep rotating it like that.”
Wood’s natural color is Snively’s palette and he chooses complementary pieces when designing a project – walnut and cherry for their reddish hues, with white ash and maple for their blondness. The bark of yellow and white birch creates additional design possibilities.
“I do a lot of frames for my tabletops that have the bark still on the wood,” says
Snively, “and I don’t do much staining
or unusual finishes.” His goal is to let the wood speak for itself.

CREATIVE DESIGN MEETS MASS PRODUCTION
Several years ago, Snively took over as builder of Nestibenches, a product sold online to those desiring child-size benches that “nest” together for optimum storage space.
“I kind of converted a quarter of my shop into Nestibench land,” says Snively. “Whenever I’m not doing my own thing, I’m working on those.”
The assembly line techniques learned
from building Nestibenches have worked their way into Snively’s own endeavors. For his more popular items, he finds himself doing 10 cuts of each piece at the same time, so when he’s finished, he has the makings of 10 items instead of just one.
“You kind of have to combine some of the mass production ideas in with your creative process,” admits Snively. “If you don’t do that, it’s kind of hard to survive.”
Flat templates made out of masonite or lauan assist him with certain angles or curves, yet the time-saving techniques don’t detract from the beauty of his work.
“You get a good design that works; there’s no reason why it can’t be mass produced. But at the same time, there’s no factory out there that’s going to send guys in the woods to collect birch bark.”

CONTEMPO-RUSTIC PLANS
“I’m constantly building speculative pieces,” says Snively, who typically draws scaled plans for each new piece. “I always have these ideas of things I want to try, or just things I’ve sold. Once I’ve sold them, I’ve got to build some more. Some pieces, I’ve done the piece enough times that I don’t really need a plan anymore.”
Other items are dictated by the piece of wood he chooses or an element he plans to use that restricts the finished product’s size.
“I do a lot of tabletops that are like charts – like nautical charts – so that’s a given –, the chart is a certain size.”
Snively is constantly challenging himself in both his songwriting and his woodworking to create something new.
“I think it’s hard to come up with something really good all at once… I think too much of what goes on in this world is instant, especially in the United States,” reflects Snively.
“People aren’t willing to take the time it takes to do something earth shattering.”
He hopes that one day people might look at a piece he’s done, and it will change their way of thinking about themselves or where they’re going in life.
“Maybe I’m stretching a little bit to think that somebody could actually look at a piece of furniture and have it change their life,” says Snively, with a grin, “but I think it’s possible.”


For more information, please visit:
www.kirbymusic.com and click on the contempo-rustic furniture link, visit the galleries mentioned or call Kirby Snively at 231-526-7014.

Trending

Mysterious Michigan Reads

We can’t think of a better way to spend spring break than with a great book. Northern Express asked local bookseller... Read More >>

Heirloom Recipes With Heritage, History, and Nostalgia

Before we begin to stash our coats and put winter behind us, let us remember what years past have taught us…fake sp... Read More >>

A Floral Family Affair

In the quaint downtown of Elk Rapids sits Golden Hill Farms, a shop where the artistry of floristry meets the rustic charm... Read More >>

A Look at Originalism

O Tempora O Mores! Oh the times, oh the culture. This Latin phrase relates to both the 18th century and our current times.... Read More >>