Tom Moser
Lifetime Achievement Award — Introduction
BOSTON DESIGN WEEK, 2023
For over 50 years, Thos. Moser Cabinetmakers has been synonymous with quality handmade American furniture. The pieces made in the Auburn, Maine-based company have been described as sublime and poetic pieces of functional artwork. What distinguishes Thos. Moser from other high-end makers is their commitment to working in only sustainably harvested North American Hardwood. Each piece is also signed by the craftsperson who made it, offering every owner a truly unique piece of American art. Tom's furniture captures the purity of traditional forms, but it is his interpretation of these forms that has pushed the envelope of furniture design into the 21st century. His furniture transcends time and space. Nothing is more evident of his tenacity than the design of his iconic Thos. Moser Continuous Arm Chair— a design that set a precedent for the Moser aesthetic: furniture that celebrates the natural beauty of wood; is of simple, unadorned, graceful lines; and is crafted for a long useful life.
Born in Chicago, Illinois, to European immigrants, Tom straddled the Old and New World philosophies and tried to embrace his father's advice: buckle down, focus, and do something. As a young boy, Tom felt the compulsion to build and create something real and physical with his hands, was always drawing and sketching on any paper he could find. For Tom Moser, this activity was constant. In 1953 at the beginning of his senior year, Tom dropped out of high school and joined the Airforce. After spending four years as a guardsman in Greenland and Alaska, he knew education was the only way to forge a future for himself. On the GI Bill, Tom enrolled in classes at the State University of New York at Geneseo. To supplement his meager earnings as a graduate student, he would buy bedraggled pieces of furniture and refurbish them for sale. This rekindled his passion for creating objects in three-dimensional form. After receiving his Ph.D. in speech communication, Tom spent ten years teaching, including a year in Saudi Arabia. Upon his return, Tom and his family moved to Maine, and soon after he began a six-year career as an associate professor of speech and rhetoric at Bates College in Lewiston.
But in September of 1971 after spontaneously selling a table he had made in his dingy cellar workshop to a neighborhood friend, he realized that his desire to create was still there and he said to his wife, Mary - “I’m going to quit teaching and make things out of wood.” And to his pleasure, she fully agreed. With no business plan, no identified mark, or no particular reason to think they would succeed, Tom and Mary, along with their four sons, partnered together to form Thos. Moser Cabinetmakers in 1972.
Tom's work has inspired thousands of woodworking enthusiasts through his books, articles, teachings and designs. His furniture aesthetic is clean, elegant, and innovative and has been requested by both Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis for their official state ceremonies and two Presidential Libraries. Tom's designs also grace countless ivy league colleges, private schools, and libraries. In 2018, The New York Public Library tapped Thos. Moser to design a chair that would become an enduring symbol of the iconic institution.
But the most astounding sentiment is the countless relationships and lives he has touched through his craft. Today, Thos. Moser has four showrooms across the country and over 60 craftspeople who have a hand in keeping Tom's vision thriving. For over 50 years, Thos. Moser furniture has graced thousands of homes and is now reaching third-generation customers.
Tom Moser has revitalized the art form and a community of makers who value the time-honored tradition of making something by hand. His work has influenced designers, craftspeople, and quality enthusiasts around the globe, and the aesthetic expression he hoped to define years ago has made a lasting and significant impression on the world of modern furniture.
As Tom once said, " I was either going to be a fool or successful, and I guess it turns out I was successful."
Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my great honor to introduce you to the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, Mr. Tom Moser.
