Lost Art Woodworks was founded by Brian Bortz in 2001. After 18 years employment in the telecommunications business, working in areas ranging from engineering to business development, he made a life-changing decision to pursue his passion to design and create truly distinctive furniture as a profession - thus became Lost Art Woodworks.
Now fifteen years as a furniture craftsman and overseeing numerous apprentices, Brian describes the experience as a profession to be the most rewarding, inspiring and sometimes frustrating experience, but he is always filled with the desire that he will leave his children with the example that you can always follow your dreams.
His current work blends vibrant exotic wood veneers into wood and shell mosaics – if he's pigeon-holed into defining his style he calls it “Contemporary Art Deco”. His Free-form Marquetry mixes woods along organic and geometric lines using marquetry techniques for contrast, complement, tone and color. This technique is most evident in his River Series, Pattern Series, and In the Margins Series of work.
Brian's furniture is built with fine domestic hardwoods, accented by highly figured exotic woods, veneers and shell, creating a piece of furniture that invites attention longer than just a few moments . All pieces are made primarily using basic power tools with occasional use of computer aided technologies. Hand tools such as planes, chisels and scrapers are used frequently in his studio. All the marquetry work, more complex milling, and all finishing are performed by Brian on every piece he creates. He uses a variety of finishing techniques selected to best accent the naturally occurring figure in the wood, with all prominent touchable surfaces being hand-polished to produce a silky feel.
