Furniture maker Thomas Moser, 90, remembered as 'great teacher, artist'
File Photo / Russ Dillingham
In this photo from 2014, Thomas Moser feeds wood into a planer at his facility in Auburn.
Thomas Moser, whose name is known for high-end furniture design and craftsmanship, died at his Maine coast home on March 5.
Through Thos. Moser, the business he founded with his wife Mary in 1972, Moser left behind a 53-year legacy of fine craftsmanship and mentorship.
“My father always believed that crafting furniture should be a collaborative venture,” said Aaron Moser, the founder’s son. “He relished passing along what he learned and, especially, eliciting input about design and craft from his team.”
The company was founded in New Gloucester and in 1987 moved to Auburn, where it has a workshop of more than 90,000 square feet. Retail channels include stores in Freeport, Boston, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
Moser taught at Bates College before leaving a tenured professorship to pursue furniture design and crafting.
In the beginning, “There was no business plan, no product, no sense of marketing, and, to their banker’s horror, no cash or cash flow,” says a company history.
Early designs “bore a strong resemblance to Shaker, Queen Anne, Pennsylvania Dutch and other antique forms,” the company says. “From spiral stairs to a waterwheel, from wooden canteens to a harpsichord, the company’s position was, ‘if it’s made of wood, we can do it.’”
Eventually, the search for a proprietary form “was synthesized into a coherent and unified body of work spanning many design genres for the home, office and academic environment.:
Furniture designs are “committed to simplicity in form — to achieve grace through proportion and simplicity, rather than embellishment,” the company says.
Moser once wrote that the perfect piece of furniture “is one that respects the material from which it is made, fits the human body and is comfortable, durable and archetypal, giving the impression that adding, subtracting or changing the proportions of any element would make it worse,” according to a news release.
Each piece is signed by the craftsperson who made it.
Moser cared about where and how his wood was sourced and made it a priority to ensure the forests they came from would continue to be healthy and productive. Pieces are made from sustainable North American hardwoods, including predominately black cherry from the Allegany Plateau, as well as walnut from the riverbanks of Missouri.
Today, the company employs over 60 craftspeople and has built chairs for American presidents and furniture for thousands of customers around the world.
More than 70% of the craftspeople employed by the company have 20 years or more there and learned furniture-making from Moser, Aaron Moser said.
“Thomas Moser was a great teacher, artist, entrepreneur and furniture maker,” said U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. “I proudly display in my Washington office a beautiful, large wooden American flag that Tom made. It is emblematic of his love of our country and of the care and craftsmanship that he brought to bear upon all his work.”
He acknowledged the contributions of everyone who helped build the company, saying, “My debt is to the craftsmen and women who make our furniture. They are Thos. Moser — not me, them.”
“That my father truly believed and lived those words set us up for continued success,” said Aaron Moser, who led the company in recent years.
In January, the company sold to Chenmark, a family-owned Portland holding company that acquires and operates small businesses.
Aaron Moser stayed on in an ambassador role. Chenmark said it would work with the existing Thos. Moser leadership team.
“As we look forward, we are confident in the foundation and sustainability of our business,” said Aaron Moser. "And we are committed to the next 50 years of crafting fine furniture here in Maine and serving our loyal customers.”
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