The Mayor’s Office at the City of Port Coquitlam is proud to showcase the craftsmanship of artisan Andres Schneiter, who handcrafted an old-growth tree from our City into a live-edged, custom made desk, credenza and bookshelf and coffee table to celebrate our City’s 100th birthday in 2013. The furniture is a part of our community’s centennial legacy in City Hall and so it was very important that these pieces were extraordinary. The work done by Andres at MapleArt Custom Furniture is extraordinary and every guest that visits my office compliments the natural look and beauty of the furniture. I hope you have the opportunity to enjoy a piece of work from MapleArt Custom Furniture as much as we do!
Mayor Greg Moore, City of Port Coquitlam
Andres,
Wanted to again pass along a big Thank You from Conifex for the 15ft Big Leaf Maple boardroom table you created for our downtown office.
It has completely surpassed our expectations – the design with full A/V and electrical connections integrated into the underside of the table, the custom made metal legs and the finish and quality are just amazing. We are still surprised you could get a 5x15ft table delivered to our 9th floor office. Being a lumber company, this show piece really emphasises our commitment British Columbia wood products. Thanks again for all of your efforts Andres
Glenn Mattice, Export Sales Mgr. Conifex
We worked closely with MapleArt Custom Furniture to design a beautiful custom boardroom table for our Grouse River project. The feature piece was to exhibit live edges and an interesting form, was to seat 12 people, and provide in-table power and data receptacles. Andres’ attention to detail and love for his work is evident, and the whole experience was an enjoyable one. We would recommend MapleArt to anyone looking for a unique, handcrafted and stunning piece of wood furniture.
Thank you,
Rachel Clarida, Hatch Interior Design Inc, Kelowna
Thank you, Andres,
You made the whole process very enjoyable for us. Iris and I are convinced that no amount could buy us a better fit between design, artist, and craftsmanship. You put your heart into this project. The table is beautiful, but the thing I still can’t get my excitement over with is how the chairs came out – they are gorgeous.
In the mail there is a thank you extra bonus check for $1,000.
Ilan Gai, California
Dear Andres,
Thank you for the nice beds and night tables you designed and made for our boys. With the inlays and interesting grain, they look great. We really appreciated the walk into the forest to show the boys where the tree for their beds grew.
Tim, Coquitlam, BC.
“Andres, we just want to let you know how much we love your table; it is so beautiful, we just love it. It is the most beautiful table we have ever seen. This may seem funny, but yesterday, when everybody left, we turned the couch around, just to watch the table and its base, which we did for over 20 minutes… Thank you so much.”
Vittoria, Maple Ridge.
“Dear Mr. Schneiter, Thank you for designing and making the table for our breakfast nook. We were looking for years to find a table suitable for the available space. Something from solid wood, but not too overpowering. The table is just right, and what we appreciate most is the beauty of the lovely maple wood and the craftsmanship.”
Inka, Port Moody
“Good morning Andres. As I tried to convey to you outside the motor home… what a wonderful unit you created, for us! It is the best! We had our dinner sitting at it last night with a fine bottle of red wine in its honor. I must take pictures of the fine fit of our printer unit into one of the sliding shelf units behind doors; it sits on the bottom one PERFECTLY not a spare centimeter anywhere!!!! Awesome! Paulette is happily moving things into the many areas for ease of use. We are very happy; words alone cannot describe how we feel about our table desk unit. Awesome job, and thank you so much for your care and attention. Can’t wait to show it off to our RV,ing friends!”
George and Paulette, Calgary
“Dear Andres, You never cease to amaze us. Our new door is gorgeous. Truly you are a master of your craft.”
Sincerely,
Janice and Murray, Surrey
“Andres Schneiter thought he was going to retire from his custom furniture business, and then he got the tree of a lifetime – the biggest maple tree in Maple Ridge.
It’s a tree he drove past on the Lougheed Highway and admired for the 40 years he has lived here, its branches shading the entire front yard. He thought it must be the oldest living thing in the area …”
“Who hasn’t gone to a home show looking for the new and arresting, but come away more impressed with the tried and true — work by men and women like Andres Schneiter, and designers Brent Neave and Dwaina Sprague. They were exhibitors at the recent Interior Design Show West — or IDSwest — and caught the eye of reporter Claudia Kwan…”
“Andres Schneiter was a longtime wooden-furniture hobbyist before he decided to devote himself to the pursuit full time.”
“When he was a university student learning about industrial design in Switzerland, Andres Schneiter was subjected to strict discipline from his instructors… Today, the workshop on his expansive Maple Ridge property is scrupulously clean, warm with the heat emanating from a stove burning otherwise unusable pieces of scrap. Wood is carefully sorted according to not only the size and type of the pieces (maple, pine, oak), but right down to the tree it came from. That allows him to match the grain of the pieces for his furniture.”
When he was a university student learning about industrial design in Switzerland, Andres Schneiter was subjected to strict discipline from his instructors. Papers had to be stacked neatly, tools put away…. The training in proper processes would serve him well through a 25-year career in telecommunications. Schneiter had already been a longtime hobbyist when it came to making wooden furniture, but he decided to devote himself to the pursuit full time after the telecom industry crashed in the early 2000s.
Andres Schneiter spent 25 years working in telecommunications, but was a longtime hobbyist in the making of wooden furniture. When the telecom industry crashed in the early 2000s, he turned that hobby into a full-time pursuit.
As he crafts his furniture from maple wood, Andres Schneiter aims to make his pieces with as clean lines as possible so that it almost appears to float. His designs look simple and to make them, he combines engineering and art. But the simpler the piece of furniture, the more complicated it is to make.
Who hasn’t gone to a home show looking for the new and arresting, but come away more impressed with the tried and true – work by men and women like Andres Schneiter, and designers Brent Neave and Dwaina Sprague.
If you’re conversant in German, you may wish to hear Andres discuss his work in this interview from the Swiss radio station DRS 1. The interview starts just after the Bruce Springstein song. It may take a few minutes after you click the link for the interview to start playing on your computer.