(Mark Gooch – Gooch Furniture)

When Setting Sights Smaller Is a Good Thing

by Pam North

Mark Gooch started bigger, then sized it down – at least that’s how furniture has figured in his life.
Born in 1973, Mark left school at 16 after completing a normal education, and he began an apprenticeship for making full-size furniture and restoring antique furniture. Eventually, he was unemployed for a short while, and because he lives in a small British village and he doesn’t drive, there weren’t many job opportunities available. A transition was in the wind. He had a garden shed and a handful of basic tools, so he decided to make miniature furniture, mainly just to pass the time and having no idea that a living could be made from it. He was given a dollhouse magazine, one that happened to feature some wonderful tiny Renaissance-style pieces by David Hurley and Barry Hipwell. It was then that Mark realized that it might be possible to make a living from such an endeavor. “I never thought I could get to their high standard,” Mark recalled, “but knowing that such perfection actually was possible, I was determined to improve my own work.”
While his experience in making full-size furniture was a great way to start, Mark is primarily self-taught in making miniature versions, and he has worked hard to evolve in his expertise. “The pieces I make now are far more advanced from my early ones. The good side is that I learn from every piece, determined to make the next one even better. The down side is I am never completely happy with the finished pieces.” So says the perfectionist.
Since his start with miniatures in 1995, Mark has created mini furniture reflecting all periods and styles. He makes his furniture appear as new with original bright-colored veneers, and the structures from pearwood. While the colors of real-life pieces fade over time, he likes to show how good these pieces would have looked when they where first made. He also uses brass, leather, and pewter as accents.
One of his favorite pieces is the William Kent chest. “This piece incorporates all aspects of carving - flat carving, carved molding, and 3D carving - in great detail. The main parts are the four carved columns. Carving one column is a challenge (but also fun); the real challenge is repeating the first one three more times to the same standard. The handles are also highly-carved, but fortunately I only had to carve one set; once the master is made, they are cast in pewter and gold-plated.”
Mark finds deep gratification in his work. “With each piece there are particular areas that work well and are very satisfying, but finishing a piece is more relief than satisfaction, After I have spent so much time on one piece of furniture, all I see are areas that could have been improved. That is the dilemma of a perfectionist. The real fulfillment comes much later. I take dozens of photographs of each piece, and after 2 or 3 months, I will look through the pictures and finally see the finished piece as a whole, not just the small sections that could have been improved. It is only then that I realize I have done a good job!”
Mark’s workplace is his shed at the bottom of his garden. An 8 feet by 10 feet wooden structure over-looking fields, it is a very peaceful area for him. “Occasionally we even get a flock of sheep!” Mark added.
He sells his products primarily through a small number of regular customers who send him commissions, but he also puts new pieces on his website. Inspiration for his work comes from many sources. “I have dozens of antique books, and something always stands out when I am going through them. Sotheby's and major museums have websites which also are very good resources, with high-resolution photos and detailed descriptions.”
He finds the current direction of miniatures somewhat concerning. “The dollhouse business has slowed down each year over the past five years. It never has been easy to make a living from miniatures, and no one who is thus employed expects to make a fortune; in fact, I suspect most work for less than minimum wage. All we want is to be able to cover our expenses and our bills, and those have increased significantly over the past five years. This causes it to be even harder to make a living, and combined with the decline of customers even more so. I haven't had a new customer for over five years. All of this makes it almost impossible for  new makers to survive, and it makes it very expensive to start collecting. I wish I had the answer to this problem. Encouraging new collectors is very important, but how do you do that? The world is a very different place from what it was 20 years ago; people under 40 don't seem to have the time for hobbies anymore.”
Always looking ahead in his work, Mark’s ambitions are aspiring. “My latest piece is a cabinet on a stand, circa 1675. It is the most ambitious piece I have started so far; every part of it is covered in marquetry, including the interior. It contains 3 doors with marquetry on both sides, and 15 drawers. To give you an idea, one drawer front has over 70 individual inlaid pieces. It is a long way from being finished, but when it is it should be something very special.”

Contact Information:
Name: Mark Gooch
Business Name: Gooch Furniture 
Address: 50 School Road, Saxon Street, Newmarket, Suffolk, CB8 9RX
Email: mark@goochfurniture.co.uk
Website: www.goochfurniture.co.uk