Featured Member: Valerie Berlage
Born and raised in Western North Carolina, I helped my grandfather in his woodworking shop as a child, and learned traditional Southern handcrafts and painting from my grandmothers. Close ties to my family and a love of the mountains kept me in WNC even after earning a BFA and K‑12 teaching licensure from UNC-Asheville. After working for a local craftsman for a number of years, I enrolled in the Professional Crafts Program at Haywood Community College, and began focusing solely on woodworking.
While my art has gone through several transitions over the years, it has remained rooted in my relationship with my loved ones, so much so that I named my studio after my two grandmothers. As a real home is built piece by piece, my work is created layer by layer out of wood and paint.
We caught up with Valerie to hear more about her background and interests within the furniture field.
Tell us a little about yourself — where you’re based and how you got started making furniture.
A native of Western North Carolina, I have called these mountains home my entire life. I was born into a family of makers, and learned woodworking from my paternal grandfather and traditional handcrafts and painting from my grandmothers. I spent a lot of time with them growing up and there wasn’t much of it that wasn’t spent coloring, painting, embroidering, sewing, quilting etc. It was a childhood of color and pattern and creativity.
Later on, while working on my BFA, I started assisting a local woodworker and it altered the trajectory of my career. I enrolled into the Professional Crafts Program at Haywood Community College, and began focusing solely on wood. In 2015 I juried into the Southern Highland Craft Guild, and after Hurricane Helene, began working for the Guild as Curator of Collections and Exhibitions at our headquarters, the Folk Art Center in Asheville, NC.
What inspires your work? And who are some of your inspirations for furniture making?
My childhood, my family, and my surroundings inspire my work. Some of my inspirations in furniture making: Judy Kensley McKie, Katie Hudnall, Barry Newstat, Louise Nevelson, Christina Boy, Annie Evelyn, Laura Petrovich Cheney, Craig Nutt. So many more, the list could go on and on. I find joy in the colorful, the whimsical, the detailed.
What does being a member of the furniture community, and specifically The Furniture Society, mean to you?
Community is very important to me- to be able to support one another, share ideas, seek advice, spread kindness. This is what it’s about. I have met wonderful people through the Furniture Society, and to be able to do the aforementioned with people you admire and respect is pretty special.
Tell us about your preferred way of connecting with clients and customers. Do you sell online, attend shows, fairs, or markets, or primarily accept custom work?
I love it when customers have seen my work in a gallery or online and it resonates with them so much that they reach out about a commission. I don’t take many each year, so I try to choose the ones I know I can complete the most successfully, and enjoy the most. I have cut out almost all shows, fairs, and markets and instead sell primarily through galleries. I do have a website, but I tend to forget about it most of the year. I remember about time for the holidays and then make a mad dash to update it!
Do you have a specific joinery technique, favorite tool, or favorite wood that you like to use? Why is it your favorite?
I like a rabbeted butt joint, my Grex 23 gauge pin nailer, and poplar. All simple. All used as a means to an end. Easy clean joints require less time and keep the focus on details that are more important to me. Same with the pin nailer- tiny holes mean less clean up. And poplar- such a fine grain it sands up and takes primer like a dream, which means I can more quickly and easily get to the painting! (My favorite part!)
Check out Valerie’s profile page, website, and social media.