You might say I am simply carrying on a family tradition. In Grey County, Ontario where I was born and raised, the name “Miller” has been synonymous with fine craftsmanship for many generations.

Both of my grandfathers worked with wood their entire lives; James Miller was a respected lumberman and lathe turner, while Frederick Wilder, my namesake was a skilled furniture finisher. Together, they represent the kind of men responsible for giving this region its historic reputation as a center for Canadian fine furniture making.

My Grandfathers tradition of excellence continued in the next generation. My father, Ralph was a precision mechanic, specializing in small motors, and very much a craftsman in his own right. As a small boy, playing in my fathers shop, I learned the importance of taking pride in your workmanship…and standing behind it.

It’s a legacy that continues to affect my whole approach to fine woodworking. Fine workmanship comes from respecting yourself and honoring the values of those who nourished the trade throughout the years…and that includes our forests. If it’s not part of who you are, no amount of success will suddenly bring it out of you.

My passion with wood started humbly enough, with a shop in the back of an old truck body, when I was just 13 years old. In 1981, I graduated from Humber College Cabinet Makers Program. In 1986 I was a key player in bringing back the Great Victorian Designs seen in my Wooden Screen Doors & Gingerbread. In 1993 inspired by French & British Treillageurs I developed Skylark Trellis & Arbour. In 1992 my partner Donna and I created a nine hundred square foot Gallery. The Craftsmans Gallery display’s Skylark Trellis & Arbour as well as Victorian Screen Doors, Gingerbread, Heirloom Furniture and a Reproduction Cherry Kitchen. Ironically 29 years later, I am working out of a well-equipped studio of two and a half thousand square feet in size and sitting in the exact location as the one that got me going.

My work on one-of-a-kind furniture commissions reflects many of the Early Canadian Styles from the late 1800s. I employ many time-honored construction methods in my pieces. Mortise and tenons, frame and panel construction and dovetailing all ensure that the solid wood furniture I make today, become the heirlooms of tomorrow.

The words of William A. Foster say it well.

“Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives”– William A. Foster

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