By Laura Goldstein
Jay Miron working in his Eastside Vancouver studio on one of his vintage General woodworking machines. Photo courtesy Jay Miron Furniture
It may seem like a surprising dichotomy of interests, but Vancouver’s former Freestyle BMX World Champion (9 medals) explains that his métier designing and making furniture shares similar attributes to playing a professional sport.
“You know, they both take an incredibly high level of attention to master, patience and a passion to succeed,” says Miron from his East-end woodworking studio.
On January 25th Jay Miron Furniture launches an eclectic collection of bespoke furniture found exclusively at SwitzerCultCreative 1725 West 3rd Avenue in Vancouver.
Credited with inventing over 30 BMX bike tricks over his international sports career in the 90s including the double back-flip, Miron opened MacNeil Bikes in Vancouver while still competing. He retired from BMX competition in 2005 after multiple concussions and broken bones and later sold MacNeil Bikes in 2010. “Sitting at a desk was never for me and during that time I always thought about woodworking,” he confides.
The Orca Lounge Chairs & Ottoman at 2017 IDS-Vancouver in the SwitzerCultCreative Booth. Photo: Jeremy Segal Photography
After studying with renowned cabinetmaker and craftsman, Robert VanNorman at Inside Passage Workshop on the Sunshine coast, Miron took a year to track down vintage wood-working machines made by General which he discovered online and then refurbished for his studio.
Miron’s Orca Lounge Chairs & Ottoman first showcased at Address and at the 2017 IDS-Vancouver Interior Design Show in the SwitzerCultCreative booth. “They were inspired by a visit I made to Tanzania ten years ago,” says Miron. “I sat in an African chief’s chair that was incredibly comfortable. This is my mid-century modern, Westcoast interpretation, all handmade then upholstered in velvet. A friend actually thought the curves resembled the skeleton of an Orca.”
The Kern Dining Table was inspired by the splat of a drop of water. Miron used 5 species of wood in its intricate construction. Photo: Haruki Noguchi
An exotic pinwheel comes to mind when viewing The Kern Table for which Miron integrated five different wood species juxtaposing colours and textures: walnut, wenge, padauk and two kinds of maple. “I saw a paint drop and splatter and that gave me the initial idea,” laughs Miron.
The Harp Spindle Bed (queen size) in cherry wood boasts a curvaceous headboard that mimics the strings of the instrument with tapered spindles and was a tour de force to construct for Miron.
The Walnut bespoke Drafting Table “was made for a client who still draws using real paper,” marvels Jay Miron. Photo: Haruki Noguchi
Reminiscing about the traditional French Drafting Table he designed and crafted, Miron was excited because his client “still draws using a real piece of paper!” The made-to-measure piece in walnut with elegant brass pins for adjusting rings that work from 25,30 & 35 degrees, were heights specified by his client.
At first glance, The Patricia Coffee Table resembles a low table with internal bookshelf covered with a gingham tablecloth. Look closer and you realize that’s not fabric but all meticulously matched parquetry in cherry,maple and padauk woods – over 300 squares – that took Miron months to construct.
The Patricia Coffee Table top resembles a gingham tablecloth and is composed of over 300 squares of maple, cherry and padauk woods. Photo: Haruki Noguchi
The final touch and a ritual for Miron upon finishing each piece of furniture is screwing in his brass engraved signature plate.
“I build my bespoke furniture pieces like they did 100 years ago and that’s why furniture lasted and was passed down from generation to generation. I hope some of my pieces will be too!”
See the first in a series of videos about Jay here:
