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Meet our Master Furniture Maker, Clara Florin, who built our Marco’s Coffee Table as well as many favorite pieces on the showroom floor. Clara is trusted with many of our more detailed pieces, especially those with intricate carving.
Clara was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1981, the youngest of three. She moved with her family to the U.S. at the age of three, "moved around a lot" and ended up in Woodstock, Vermont at 13. She spent her senior year of high school on a tall ship sailing around the world. From there, she earned her BFA at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), focusing on sculpture, but also studying painting, drawing, pottery, and mixed media.
Returning to Woodstock after graduation in 2004, Clara was encouraged by her father to visit the ShackletonThomas workshops to see the work they were doing. She was hired on and was easily able to apply her artistic skills with three-dimensional objects and craftsmanship to furniture. After two years at Charles Shackleton Furniture, Clara set out for California, landing in San Diego, where she lived and worked for the next seven years.
When she found herself back in Vermont to stay, she came to visit the workshops. Much remained the same, including many of her former coworkers like Marty Higgs, Jim Blanchard, and Chip Ogg. She slid back in and has been with us for the past six years.
Clara’s favorite pieces to make are the Juliet’s line because she likes carving and puzzling together the flower and leaf motifs. She also enjoys making case pieces because of the planning and intricacy required, saying “you have to think four steps ahead”.
When not at work making furniture, Clara prefers to be out of doors with her children, Mia (8) and James (2). In the summers, she has an extensive garden and, if she were to choose a different professions, would like to work at a plant nursery or something similar. She was an avid rock climber in California and also enjoys weight training.
Future plans focus on travel, particularly to New Zealand, Southern Italy, Scotland, and Patagonia, among other places. Near future plans include getting married to Hugh Shackleton this month, deepening her ties to ShackletonThomas even more as a member of the family.
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