MICHAEL O's exotic vision thrives on exotic veneers
"In this world of carbon copies, I want to
distinguish myself."
-Michael Oguns
To Michael Oguns, wood isn't just a raw material; it's
a medium. As an artist, Oguns has evolved through several
media - acrylic, metal, wood, bronze and upholstery. To
express himself in each medium he explores, Oguns has
had to learn the
properties of each material, as well as the skills
needed to manipulate it. Only then can he share his
vision in three solid dimensions.
"Most of my inspiration comes from nature," Oguns says.
"Ideas are pulled from animals, trees, from anywhere.
When I look at things, I visualize them differently
from how a normal person might see them. My sculptural
and architectural background helps me look at them for
their design. I'm also pushed by my creative mind. You
don't always know where these things come from!"
Oguns grew up in Nigeria, creating and selling small
mixed-media pieces as a teenager. His creative drive
soon lead him to Nigerian Polytechnic, where he received
degrees in architectural engineering and building
estimating, all the while paying his tuition by selling
his unique designs sculpted from
mirror, wood and
acrylic.
His goal was to continue his architectural studies in
the United States; to achieve this, he armed himself
with yet another degree, this one in architectural
technology.
SUCCESS DESPITE SETBACKS
He settled in Miami in the early '70s, and quickly made
a name for himself-he and his business are known as
Michael O - designing, manufacturing and
distributing interior furnishings and accessories. He
was working
mainly with acrylic and decided to set up shop to
capitalize on his ideas.
"I worked as a nurse for a year so I could save enough
money to buy the equipment I needed," says Oguns, "and
in 1977 I rented a warehouse, bought five or six basic
machines and hired a fabricator to run the shop." When
the fabricator left after the first three months, Oguns
had to become self-sufficient.
"This forced me to close the shop, because I was still
working as a nurse and couldn't commit to it full-time.
For three or four months, I would come in before work to
try and learn the machinery myself. Eventually, I
fabricated a few pieces and put them in my factory
showroom. Then I started contacting designers, finding
them in the yellow pages and calling them and one by
one, they started coming in to see my custom furniture
pieces made from acrylic."
After nine successful years designing and fabricating in
acrylic, Oguns decided the next logical step was metal.
"This was in 1982, when riots erupted in downtown Miami
and my shop was right in the middle of it. They totally
destroyed my shop and looted all my furniture, costing
me about $70,000. It really set me back."
But it didn't take him out of the picture. Oguns picked
up the pieces of his acrylic creations and started
combining them with metal.
This was a very hot look in the '80s, which helped me
survive the recession. I worked in this medium until
about four years ago, when I decided to start working
with wood. I really liked wood, but I wasn't sure if I
could work with it the way I envisioned, so I went to
the Anaheim woodworking show and did a lot of research
to learn the secrets of woodworking."
DESIGNING WITH VENEERS
"I was able to gather the information I needed and
started buying machinery, like shapers, belt sanders
and stuff like that. I've been experimenting and trying
to perfect my woodworking skills for the last four
years; a year and a half ago I actually started work. I
made several pieces before showing anything, because I
always like to introduce my designs in a grand way."
Ogun's first forays into wood appeared in his showroom
at the prestigious Design Center of the Americas,
located between Miami and Fort Lauderdale, in September
of 1995. His wood furniture designs fit gracefully into
the stylistic synergy he'd established in earlier
mediums, but his eye-catching use of veneers adds
another entire dimension.
"Because I cater to the very high-end, I like to use
exotic veneers to enhance the look of the design. When I
first got into woodworking, I found a friend in my local
veneer distributor, Whittelsey Wood Products. They
taught me a lot about wood. I discuss all my samples
with Tom Whittelsey one-on-one and he advises me on
what to use and how the end product will come out."
Oguns uses Jacaranda's SanPly-4 veneers, which are
available in over 40 different species and cuts.
They
consist of four layers: a real-wood face veneer, a
paper ply designed to bond the face veneer, a foil
layer (the foil gives the composite its flexibility,
stability and flame retardance, and prevents finishing
and adhesive materials from bleeding through) and a
backing layer of bonding paper to aid adhesion to the
substrate.
"These veneers are very easy to work with," Oguns says,
"which is what I'm looking for
- the best-looking
materials that give me the least amount of trouble."
"I do both stain and natural color work and high-gloss
and satin finishes," says Oguns. "Sometimes I use
polyester, other times I use urethane. If I have a
veneer with open grain, I use a polyester sealer to fill
it up. I read a lot to find out about how to use certain
finishes and do a lot of experimentation on my own.
It's an ongoing learning process, I constantly ask
questions."
THE FUTURE
Michael O's small shop currently employs a handful of
craftsmen, creating his limited-edition furniture pieces
one at a time. Metal plating and custom hardware
creation is also done on the premises.
Oguns says he expects to start doing more volume in the
next six month's or so. His high-end mixed media designs
are very involved and would be too tedious to mass
produce, but he's designed some lines
which are more accommodating
to the volume-manufacturing process.
"They'll be at something similar to what I'm doing now
and will probably be sold in high-end retail stores. I
plan to contract the manufacturing, but I want to make
sure they're done properly."
In what medium will Oguns next distinguish himself?
"I'm probably going to go to upholstery soon. That's
going to be my next battle."
