DMR Designs started because, like many of you, the furnishings I dreamed of having, new works of ageless design, integrity and utility were not available. Anywhere. Period.

In response, I launched my career as a furniture artist in 1995.

I am a romantic Libra. Beauty is my guiding star. Proportion and balance are instinctive to me. I design furniture for myself and other artists, a category which includes most of you; every dreamer who consents to dream about the actual world.

My work is doing what I love: building beautiful, functional works of art. Because I started by making pieces for my personal use, from the beginning we have built only artisan quality furnishings.

Initially we built pieces inspired on the lifestyle and furnishings of colonial Caribbean plantations. Later the furniture was more ambitious, reflections of some of our favorite treasures in the furniture collections of palaces and museums around the world.
We still offer your favorites, the pieces you have purchased once and again from that period.

Now we also offer pieces of our own design, which emerge from our very personal hands-on process.

We start with a rudimentary sketch of the imagined piece. The sketch is used as the anchor point to transmit our vision of the piece to the artisan(s) who will work building the prototypes. After agreeing on the approach, we go to the materials and begin creating the reality of the piece.

Sometimes this is a linear process and we achieve the “artist proof” in one haul.

Other times, specially when user comfort has to be achieved within the angles, bias and curves of a design like our Zero Chair, serendipity plays a hand in reaching the “artist proof” status.

Then, after making the full size patterns used for duplicating the piece, the “artist proof” is offered for sale both in our gallery and site. Your favorites become our line pieces.

What one does and doesn’t do in crafting a piece determines the quality and value of the work.

In our wood based pieces we never use:
inferior quality woods or plywood,
nails or screws,
staples to fasten the upholstery,
second rate bonding, tinting, sealing, or vanishing materials
or wood waste to assemble larger structures.

And only use:
the finest woods– mahogany, cedar and fiddle-wood,
mortise-and-tenon joints to fasten every union,
dowels to attach table tops to their supporting frame,
hidden dowels to anchor miter joints,
hand rubbing for all our finishing work,
water based stains which are naturally absorbed by the wood and never discolor,
hand held carving tools,
electric heat to dry our woods to 6 degrees humidity so our pieces do not twist or crack,
and the best techniques such as finger, dovetail and tongue and groove joints in our drawers.

Our artisan production system limits our production capacity.

For example, building each of our Cactus Side Table requires 19 + working days:
5 ˝ days for the Carpentry;
8 days for Stenciling and Carving;
3 days for Sanding, Sealing and Lacquering and
3 working days for Hand Forged Iron finishing.

But it also increases the exclusivity of the pieces, a large plus for serious furniture buyers.

I believe each of the pieces offered possess the ideal which launched my furniture career:
ageless design, integrity and utility.

Our first patrons thought they had fortuitously discovered our gallery while walking the side streets of Old San Juan. But there are no coincidences. They too had been fruitlessly seeking furniture of genuine worth. We prospered from word of mouth recommendations.

We look forward to a repeating that experience with our internet gallery.

Like all artists, I work for your recognition.
So, before logging out, please take a minute and email me your questions and comments.
I promise to answer.

Thank you