Good Eye by Jim Tolpin and George Walker

“Good Eye” – the fifth and newest book in the authors’ "artisan geometry" series – explores furniture design by delving into simple proportions in a new and deep way.

Here, Jim Tolpin and George Walker take a close look at iconic pieces of furniture from different periods, and show you the proportional systems behind each of them at work. Then, they take you a step beyond, and show how to use that same system to create an entirely new design – a piece with bones that can successfully work in just about any design aesthetic.

If you have been following the work of George and Jim this new book will expand your understanding of artisan geometry and how to make it work for you. If you are new to furniture design, “Good Eye” is a great point of entry into to the topic.

The book begins by showing you how to find the simple shapes behind a piece of furniture. Then how to tease out the "module" (or two) that is the building block of that design. Then you can use that module to scale mouldings, rails, stiles, drawers and negative space.

If this sounds difficult, don’t worry. “Good Eye” teaches you through example. The lessons begin with a simple 17th-century chest. The authors show you the basic system behind the chest‘s overall proportions. They then explain (using words and clear line drawings) how the module helps lay out the chest’s rails, stiles and panels. Once you understand the system behind the chest, Tolpin and Walker show you how to use the same system to design a contemporary hi-fi cabinet.

“Good Eye” then marches forward with this format. Learn asymmetry with the help of pieces from Asia. Tackle secondary modules while exploring a Shaker sewing table. Then learn to improve existing designs with the process of “refinement,” where you play with different layouts (all using the same system) to find the one that is most pleasing. Then they explain ornamentation and curves.

All of these high-minded ideas are backed up with real-world examples. The book has hundreds of line drawings that make each step understandable.

Jim Tolpin, who grew up on the East Coast and now resides in Port Townsend, Washington, has been making a living at woodworking since 1970, mostly in the finish carpentry and custom cabinetmaking trades. In the last 15 years he's been writing books on woodworking and design and, after helping found Port Townsend School of Woodworking, teaching the trade. Jim is, above all else, a teacher, and the best kind, because he never believes he knows it all, and he never stops learning. He also believes in passing it on, while you still can. “There are a lot of people out there who want to know this stuff and that includes me,” he says. “I personally love being in the position of not knowing but maybe going to find out.” Visit Jim and George’s By Hand and Eye’s online atelier (design studio) to help you unlock your potential as a builder or maker by honing your design skills.

Raised in northeast Ohio, George Walker spent the first 20 years of his woodworking in design purgatory. Then, after stumbling onto the design language of the artisans, he can’t shut up about it. After five books and scores of magazine articles, he’s just getting started. No matter how ordinary the circumstances, George is regularly struck by the majesty and wonder of life – the way millions of colorful warblers gather at Magee Marsh before their migration across Lake Erie; the way a medieval drawing found in an old monastery can inform his work through the understanding of geometry; or the way he can now build a beautiful piece of furniture, without plans or a tape measure, using instead a stick, a piece of string and dividers. Visit George and Jim’s By Hand and Eye’s online atelier (design studio) to help you unlock your potential as a builder or maker by honing your design skills.