Today we’d like to introduce you to Allen Fulmer.
Hi Allen, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Shorter version: I accidentally got into woodworking. In high school I went on a tour of the vocational school to get out of class for the day. You had to select a few different shops to tour, and one of my choices was cabinetmaking. After graduating, I apprenticed under a local fine woodworker learning fundamentals and working my way up to lead maker. During that time, I need to purchase my own tools and researched Japanese tools, which function differently than western tools. In doing so, you come across many examples of furniture or architecture that the tools are used for. This inspired me to appreciate the aesthetic of Japanese style woodworking. When I opened Imoshen Studio, I started out primarily making Japanese inspired furniture designs. As time went on, that reputation lends itself to more traditional work like shoji screens and tatami mat spaces like tea ceremony rooms. All of our commissions are currently derived from traditional architectural inspiration, inspired furniture design, or design categories that utilize Japanese principles(japandi, Scandinavian design, mid century modern).
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It was definitely not a smooth road, however I believe you need to have some good luck along the way. Weve been fortunate to have some great clients who trusted me with full autonomy of design to really help walk a line of function vs form and showcase atleast a little bit of what we can build. Some internal struggles I faced were really focusing in on where I wanted the design reputation to land. Our design approach is certainly different than day 1 of the business opening. And the marketing choices that followed, to get the brand to where it is today.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Imoshen studio ?
Imoshen is a fine woodworking brand focusing on handmade Japanese style furniture and woodworking. “We don’t just build furniture, we create functional art using traditional techniques, built with integrity to last a lifetime.” We specialize in traditional work like shoji screen doors and windows, and tea ceremony rooms built to traditional standards used in Japan. We also build furniture like tables, chairs, beds, etc using Japanese style joinery and design. We make a handful of kitchens and millwork style projects per year designed focused on Japanese principles…either traditional(mizuya) or sister aesthetics like japandi, Scandinavian, and Mid century modern, that utilize Japanese philosophies in their design and structural approach.
What were you like growing up?
I was very introverted. I grew up playing various sports, but always enjoyed doing things with my hands. Legos, model cars, helping my dad work on family cars, etc. I was not a particularly good athlete, so fortunately I accidentally stumbled into woodworking.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.imoshenstudio.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/imoshenstudio?igsi=em00ZXVuZ2MyNWNw&utm_source=qr
