1. TheArtOf
ItalianWoodworking
“M
ade in Italy.” What is the
mystique, the undeniable
allure of this label for so many
people? After all, many countries have fine
artisans that can produce beautiful, high-
quality items. Yet, it always seems that the
most famous, fashionable and sought-after
brands of clothing, shoes, leather, watches,
automobiles and beyond originate in this
boot-shaped Mediterranean nation. It is
perhaps in the production of fine, handmade
furniture, though, that Italian artistry and
craftsmanship stands out the most.
In order to gain some insight into the
world of Italian furniture, Zman stopped
into one of the most versatile suppliers in the
tri-state area, Accentuations By Design of
Boro Park, and had a chat with the owners,
Yoely Brach and his mother Mrs. Brach. Due
to their business relationship with so many
different factories in Italy, as well as their
frequent trips there, they were ideal candi-
dates to give us a window into that world.
First we discussed the historical
background to Italy’s furniture-making
traditions. The roots of Italy’s association
with fine arts and craftsmanship lie in the
Italian Renaissance. Six hundred years ago,
Italy lay at the confluence of world trade and
culture. Thanks to the immense amount of
trade controlled by the Venetian Republic,
along with the two other major “Maritime
Republics” of Italy—Genoa and Pisa—huge
amounts of exotic foods, artwork, sculptures,
crafts and jewels were brought to the region.
At the same time, there was a flowering of
education, philosophy and science. Italian
builders incorporated the most appealing
designs from Byzantine, Islamic, Gothic and
ancient Roman architecture into their grand
structures.
Italy soon became a hub of master
artists and craftsmen who had access to
the finest raw materials from around the
world. The finished products were sold to
wealthy consumers throughout Europe. It
was during this time that the ancient tradi-
tion of handmade Italian furniture began.
Master woodworkers spent years perfecting
techniques for shaping and finishing the
wood. Artisans carved intricate patterns
and design into the chairs, tables, armoires,
mirrors and other products. They fused
the finest woods with elaborate iron, brass
and copper components and luxurious
leather and cloth upholstery. Then they
incorporated rare and valuable materials
into the pieces, like gold leaf, silver, mother-
of-pearl, Venetian glass and jewels.
The popularity of Italian furniture
has only grown over the centuries. Just as
Germany is renowned for the unmatched
quality of its pianos, Scotland for its whisky
and Amsterdam (Netherlands) for its
diamonds, Italy has maintained its reputa-
tion as the final word in quality furniture.
That’s because producing authentic furni-
ture is considered an art form in Italy.
You don’t get to be a master craftsman by
accident. It takes determination, hard work,
attention to your craft, and lots of practice.
In Italy, these values pervade the culture.
The trade secrets that distinguish Italian
techniques have been passed down from
master to apprentice for centuries.
The Brachs described the small,
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2. family-owned furniture shops and factories
dotting the Italian countryside even today,
carrying on the tradition of generations.
Although there are some very old work-
shops, as well as newer ones, it is safe to
say that most of the companies making fine
furniture in Italy today have been in exis-
tence since at least the early 1900s.
Today their clientele is not limited to
Europe. From the Americas to Africa to the
Far East, consumers of high-quality, durable
solid-wood furniture vie to obtain the best
products at the best prices.
Italian: Is It Really Different?
We began the next part of our interview
with a blunt but important question: What’s
the “big deal” about Italian furniture?
How much of it is hype, and what really
sets it apart? Mrs. Brach, a woman who is
very passionate about interior design and
furnishings, explained that in so many
fields—jewelry, silver, metalwork—Italy has
the finest artisans in the world. It’s the same
with furniture. “Even though France is also
known for its artistic qualities, their prima-
ry focus is on the design aspect. They didn’t
develop their ‘hand resources.’ Italians have
developed their hand resources—what they
can make with their hands—beyond what
anybody else in the world, I believe, can
make. No one has their fine-tuning. Egypt
and Mexico also produce a lot of furniture,
but it doesn’t come near Italian quality.”
Yoely Brach told us that Accentuations
By Design was started by his mother 30
years ago, and from the beginning it was
the Italian commitment to quality that
defined her own approach. She entered the
furniture import business as a result of her
own personal experience. When she was
shopping for furnishings for her own home,
she was simply not satisfied with the qual-
ity and styles that were available to her in
the New York market. She decided to make
the trip to Italy herself. Not only did she
find the furniture she was looking for, but
she realized that by importing these items
herself she would be able to offer a selection
and quality to local consumers that had not
been available previously.
China is the number one competitor
when it comes to furniture production.
Naturally, we were interested in comparing
and contrasting the Chinese products that
are now on the market. The Brachs were
not disdainful or dismissive of the quality
of furniture produced in China, but they did
patiently explain what the differences are.
It turns out that the difference is not in the
wood itself.
“It’s really the craftsmanship and the
quality of the artisans that makes the differ-
ence,” Mrs. Brach explained. “Higher end
Italian furniture is very hard to reproduce,
although it is possible. Usually, a Chinese
copy of an Italian design is, to a degree, of
lesser quality.”
We asked her to elaborate further. “A
lot of it has to do with the components. You
see this bronze-work?” she asked, point-
ing out an example. “You can’t find that in
China—or anywhere in the world. If they do
make it, it’s of an inferior metal. Now, if you
mass-produce furniture in China and you
ship the actual wood to one of the better
factories there, there’s a good chance they
can get that part pretty close. Once it comes
to metal or leather components, or certain
types of intricate carvings, it’s not going to
happen.
“Some things from China are fine. If you
want a certain look at a certain price, some-
times you have no choice. But if you want
to get the most for your money, I always
recommend Italian.”
Mrs. Brach told us about a woman who
wanted help sprucing up her Italian dining
room set. Accentuations had sold her the set
20 years before. The woman, now a bubby,
had the furniture in a very small space in
a Williamsburg apartment. Mrs. Brach was
stunned when she walked in. “It looked as if
I had delivered it the day before! Of course,
the upholstery was worn after all that time,
so I suggested that she reupholster the
chairs.” She pointed out that between Shab-
bos, Yom Tov, and all the kids and grandkids,
no one gets as much use out of dining room
furniture as large Jewish families… but this
furniture lasts.
The Brachs have visited countless
factories in Italy, as well as in China. Typi-
cally, they described, the Italian factories are
smaller. There are one or two people doing
work by hand, whereas in China there could
be 20 people working on a certain piece of
furniture. Naturally the sole carpenter, who
considers himself an artist in his field, takes
pride in his work. Typically the woodworker
either owns the factory, or is the father, uncle
or son of the owner. The family has been in
the business for generations. Therefore he is
closely invested in the quality and reputa-
tion of the company’s products.
Yoely Brach pointed out that while there
are factories all over Italy, different regions
of the country specialize in different kinds of
furniture, and this specialization contributes
to the precision and quality of those pieces.
Coming off our visit to Venice, Zman was
interested to know if the Brachs had seen
much Venetian glass in Italian furniture
design.
“We’ve definitely seen it, and it can be
inserted into the pieces. I saw a breakfront
with glass from Murano inserted and it was
really beautiful,” answered Mrs. Brach, refer-
ring to the island in Venice famous for its
glasswork factories. “There are factories on
Murano that actually produce furniture with
Venetian glass in it. When we visited Murano
I was interested to see that they are actu-
ally selling furniture on the island itself for
more than our store prices when we import
it to New York. That gives you an idea of the
markup they put on it for the tourists!”
Besides for its beauty and qual-
ity, another advantage of Italian furniture
is customization. When furniture is ordered
from a factory in Italy, the factory doesn’t
have it sitting in a warehouse waiting to
be shipped. They only start preparing the
wood, shopping and drying it, when the
order comes in. Thus anything can be made
to a custom size, height or color. Mrs. Brach
used the example of a 48-inch headboard, a
very popular size in the Jewish community
that is not available pre-made.
Raw, premium hardwood and softwood trees are felled and cut
to a uniform length for further processing. They are then run
through a debarker which peels off the bark and grinds it for
use in mulching and other applications.
Wood is sorted into piles and stored
in preparation for being turned into lumber.
Each log is carefully measured and evaluated for the wood it
can produce. It is then placed on specialized machinery which is
calibrated to the correct measurements. The machine will saw
it lengthwise into various sizes and shapes of lumber boards.
Often the mill worker will slice open the log, evaluate it for
imperfections and based on its features he will decide how to
further cut it.
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3. do a special favor for a customer and ship it by
air, that alone would end up costing more than
the entire order.
When it comes to furniture, which is not
only an investment of money but something
that will define the look of your home,
there is no doubt that customer service is
important. Today, every business advertises
great customer service, because that’s what
marketers tell them people want to hear. We
asked Yoely for his advice about what people
should look for and what really makes the
difference when it comes to service.
Customer service has a lot of different
meanings, but one of the most important
things is being honest with the customer.
Don’t blame the customer when it’s really our
problem.
Wood is a natural product. It’s alive. It has
to breathe. Depending on the temperature and
humidity, it can change shape or even crack.
Sometimes people complain that they got “old
furniture.” It’s not old. They don’t understand
that the wood changes with the weather, just
like your skin can peel when the winter comes.
It’s not like plastic. On the other hand, this is
the area where a dealer can be deceiving.
For example, the finishing on a table didn’t
set properly. The first thing a store could tell
you is that the sun is shining on it, or you’re
using the wrong chemicals to clean it. Some-
times that could be a legitimate cause—but
most times the issue is something that has to
do with the factory.
The problem is that most factories do not
take responsibility, because there is a climate
change between Italy and the US, and the
wood will expand and sometimes an item will
crack. It’s not that the furniture is junk; it’s
that the climate change causes the wood to
change.
Since the factory doesn’t take responsibil-
ity, the store has to. Real customer service
means to call back every customer, take apart
the problem and honestly determine whose
problem it is. Prompt attention to customers
is very important. Here at Accentuations we
have two employees whose sole job is customer
The perfect furniture doesn’t always
have to be custom-made, though. Accen-
tuations By Design maintains the largest
furniture warehouse in Brooklyn so that if
customers wish to come in and furnish an
entire room—or home—at once, they will
have access to a huge in-stock inventory.
Once the order is complete, Accentuations
will be able to deliver everything right away
from their warehouse.
Mrs. Brach tries to maximize flexibility
for her clients when choosing their home
décor. She wants them to be able to furnish
a complete room in the exact style they want
without having to run all over town. That’s
why she considers Accentuations By Design
a “design center” rather than just a furniture
store. She maintains a selection of fabrics
from all over the world, as well as window
treatments, wallpaper and accent pieces.
She especially likes when she can help the
customer find many different pieces that
work together in a space, without all being
copies of the same design.
“We go to every trade show and we
maintain catalogues from all the Italian
factories with their whole lines, so we really
know everything that’s out there and we can
cater to any taste,” she said. “I think that
really sets us apart.”
The Brachs also pointed out that their
store is for everyone. “You don’t have to
come in and buy a dining room table for
$20,000 or more; we also have beautiful
ones on display for $2,000. We try to keep
the broadest selection possible so everyone
walks out happy.”
From Italy to Your Dining Room
One thing we were very interested in
discussing with Yoely was the challenge of
physically bringing the furniture to the US.
We’ve all heard stories about people who
ordered their dining room furniture and
waited months, or even a year to receive it.
Is that an issue of poor customer service?
Yoely explained that it’s a lot more compli-
cated than that:
Some people make a big mistake in their
expectations for furniture delivery. Furniture
is not like a bottle of milk, where there’s a
routine and the cow gives milk every day, so
the next morning you know you’re going to
have a bottle of milk. When a factory makes
an order for a customer, they start processing
the wood to build that particular order. If
everything goes well, great, but if there comes
a month of rainy weather, for example, they
cannot do finishing, which requires dry air.
Then the product must be shipped by
boat, after which it goes through US customs.
That whole process often takes up to a
month. Sometimes, though, it gets held up in
customs. It could arrive on Monday and for
whatever reason they will only release it the
next Monday. If a container gets pulled in for
inspection, it could take a month or more. It’s
not under anyone’s control and no one who
imports furniture is exempt from this problem.
What ends up happening is the factory
promised three months, the store promised
four months to account for shipping by boat—
but it ends up being eight or nine months
before delivery. No one lied: not the store, and
not the factory. It just didn’t go as planned.
Timing is based on a history of timing, but it
doesn’t mean that that particular thing will
come at that time. Even if a store wanted to
Somelogsareturnedintoveneer–thinsheetsofauthenticwood
thatareslicedoffthelogandusedtoprovideabeautifulwooden
coatingforlower-densityboardsthataremadefromcompressed
woodfibers.Thisphotoshowsonetechniqueforcreatingveneer,
wherethelogisspunasamachineslicesofflayerbylayer,peeling
itintoaverylongsheetofuniformthickness.
Oncethelogsarecutintoboards,theyarestillconsidered
“green.”Beforetheybecomefurnitureorotherfinishedproducts,
theymustbeproperlydried.Thiscaneitherbedonenaturally,by
separatingtheboardstoletairflowallaroundthemformonths,
sometimesmorethanayear(calledseasoning).Or,thewoodis
putintoadryingkiln,whichislikeahugeovenorsaunathatwill
dryitoutquicklyandreadyitforimmediateuse.
When the wood is finally ready, Italian craftsmen carefully chisel
and shape it with hand tools, preparing various components
to be used in fine furniture. Visible are also various traditional
hand tools, including a wood jack plane, hand drill and awl.
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4. furniture is also distinguished by the Italian
penchant for design and style. Italy’s design-
ers take pride in setting world trends in
style, and over time—and especially in the
20th
century—they began focusing more and
more attention on furniture design.
Classic furniture produced in the
traditional Renaissance Italian style has
an undying appeal. Contemporary Italian
furniture has much more to offer, though, in
terms of modern and innovative designs.
Italianfurnituretodayisconstructedfrom
a wide range of materials. The traditional and
always-popular wood of the past is joined by
modern materials such as steel, aluminum,
plastics and resins. Designers have incorpo-
rated these new materials to give free reign
to their creativity, opening up an entirely new
generation of furniture styles.
The Brachs, pioneers in their area for
bringing a wide range of modern designs
to their store, explained that consumers
with different tastes looking to furnish
a more modern or trendy space can still
benefit from the same Italian quality and
craftsmanship. Italian designers are able to
fuse their passion for inventive new looks,
incorporating striking or subtle colors,
curves and angles, with their broad range
of high quality materials and the traditional
Italian obsession with the quality of manu-
facture, producing furniture that is strong
and sturdy.
We came away from our interview with
the Brachs with a new appreciation of the
superior construction of Italian furniture.
We also learned that the main thing that
makes contemporary Italian furniture—
both modern and classical style—so popular
is the elegance and beauty of its design. It
is the designers’ focus on even the smallest
details that make each piece a work of art in
its own way—a functional work of art that
gives pleasure and comfort and can last for
generations.
service. We send service experts to the house
to inspect the furniture, and we assume it’s our
problem unless proven otherwise. Stores with
bad customer service do just the opposite: it’s
the customer’s fault unless proven otherwise.
Sometimes we do find that it was customer
negligence, like the kids were leaning back in
the chairs, and that’s not something we have
to take responsibility for—but most of the
time we will take care of the problem.
Look Before You Leap
Mrs. Brach greatly emphasized the
importance of proper planning when it
comes to furnishing your living space,
which is a consideration when you want to
purchase any type of furniture. Her passion
is design. She is very competent in floor plan-
ning and delights in finding unique pieces
that work well together in a space and give it
the desired character. From her experience
she explained that it is very easy to make a
mistake that will result in an awkward floor
plan if you don’t carefully consider the space
where the furniture will be placed, before
you buy it.
She told a story to illustrate. Often, she
will visit a customer’s home to help with
choosing and placing the furniture properly.
One customer showed her the room where
he planned to place some furniture pieces
against a certain wall. Mrs. Brach looked
up at the chandelier and noticed that if the
dining room table were centered under it,
the chairs around the table would come
uncomfortably close to the wall, even before
the extra furniture was added! She advised
the customer to quickly ask the designer to
change the location of the chandelier before
the painting of the ceiling was finished, so
that the table could be placed in a more suit-
able location.
Designers are very good when it comes to
paint, tiles, walls, paneling and colors. Not all
designers are proficient in floor planning and
placements, though, so sometimes when it
comes to the lighting they do it according to
whim. Sometimes you could pay a lot of money
for beautiful big windows, only to find that they
have to be partially blocked with furniture. So
I am a big fan of a lot of pre-planning, focusing
on placements when you build a house. The
reason I enjoy making home visits is that I like
to know that what I suggest is really going to
work and it’s going to be comfortable for the
client. I take a lot of pride in my work.
Then and Now
Our last topic was modern vs. traditional
furniture. Apart from the materials and skill
of the artisanal carpentry involved, Italian
Craftsman using a chisel to shape a piece
of spinning wood into a circular shape.
Today’s Italian furniture carpenters carry
a tradition stretching back many generations.
Mrs. Brach was invited by a friend to come to her home and help
design this dining room according to her tastes. The chandelier,
table, chairs and other furniture are representative of beautiful
Italian craftsmanship and design. The large mirror, made of
authentic Venetian glass, endows a spacious atmosphere to the
room and in this photo reflects the Italian window treatments,
couch and painting, also provided by Accentuations.
Zman visits one of the most versatile suppliers in the tri-state area, Accentuations By Design of Boro Park
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