About The Artist
Jonathan Simons "It all started the day I forgot to put a spoon in my lunch bag when I was working as an apprentice to a furniture maker. I took a piece of scrap wood and quickly shaped a spoon. I had majored in art and design at the University of Illinois, and wanted to create something both beautiful and functional, which led me to explore working with wood.In 1978, following my apprenticeship, I worked in a canoe-seat factory in Maine. When I was laid off from my job, I wanted to work for myself. My home workshop was in the garage, and at 20 degrees below zero, it was too cold for glue to set so I could only make single piece products. That is when I remembered spoons. After trading spoons for food, and barely surviving, I found a sales representative who helped launch my business with a whopping $6000 of sales in my first year. In 1979 I moved back to my home state, Pennsylvania, which has a milder climate and a good supply of native hardwood, began making spoons and selling them. At my first national craft show, I underpriced my spoons and sold out my years' production in the first hour of the show. My spoons have developed over the years. Originally made of uncommon spoon woods such as lilac, plum, and honeysuckle, I have since chosen to make my spoons of cherry wood. This is a hardwood with handsome color and grain, durable, smooth, and strong. My utensils have a unique sense of balance and warmth because they are designed with the hand and purpose in mind. "Spoons" have become spatulas, tongs, spaghetti forks, spreaders, and more. Today I offer a natural cherry finish, a flame-blackened surface with a sanded edge to reveal an accent of warm cherry wood, as well as flame-blackened stripes and spots." |