Fine Handmade Windsor Chairs & Period Furniture
Catalog
Authentic Period Reproductions Made by Hand
See Work in Person
Workshop
Mark's workshop in the Greenbrier Valley of West Virginia is open to visitors by appointment.
(304) 772-5052
1255 Rowan Road
Gap Mills, West Virginia 24941
About Mark Soukup
"I build custom heirloom furniture by hand in the same manner of the 18th-century furniture shop, with care and attention to every detail."
Mark Soukup creates Windsor Chairs and period furniture using traditional materials, tools, and techniques.
His pieces reflect the beautiful lines and functional quality of the finest classic American furniture with meticulous detail and a passion for the highest level of craftsmanship. The results are lasting pieces for museum collections and private homes.
His furniture has been commissioned by George Washington's Mt. Vernon, Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, and Jefferson's Poplar Forest.
Commissions
Work Created for Historic Museums
Poplar Forest
Thomas Jefferson's Personal Retreat
Twenty-four chairs were commissioned by Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest National Historic Landmark to replace chairs known to have been ordered by Jefferson himself for use at Poplar Forest.
Mark's reproduction is based largely on an ink and wash drawing made by Cornelia Jefferson Randolph of furniture that had been in use at Jefferson's estate during his lifetime. The finish was specified in a letter written by Jefferson regarding the original chair order.
Mount Vernon
Work Commissioned for George Washington's Historic Home
Mark Soukup was commissioned to make thirty Philadelphia sack-back Windsor chairs for Mount Vernon, reproducing a surviving chair from Washington's own inventory. Finished in the original Mahogany paint color, the chairs have been placed out on the piazza facing the Potomac River, where Washington had used them for entertaining.
Monticello
Work Commissioned for Thomas Jefferson's Architectural Masterpiece
Mark Soukup made twenty-eight "double-bowed" Windsor chairs for Monticello's main entrance hall, reproducing the original chairs listed in Jefferson's 1801 records. Additional commissions for Monticello have been fulfilled, including square-back settees for the dome room and Jefferson-designed settees for the exterior terraces. Prototypes for the chair commission were made available for study by Independence National Historical Park and the Winterthur Museum.
Testimonials
“Please accept this first letter written while sitting in my new Soukup Philadelphia writing chair. The workmanship is superb and the fit is exactly correct. My knees, hips and, most importantly, elbow are well situated for the purpose intended. Many thanks. I am proud to have one of your masterpieces.”
— D.E., Indianapolis
“I want you to know that I, and my law partners, think that this piece of your work is absolutely beautiful. It is just as we imagined it would be from the photos we have seen of your work, only it is hard to imagine a beautiful thing in the level of detail that one sees when he actually views it!
Every detail of the chair is so fine, that the object itself is perhaps
more a work of art than a functional thing.”
— A.L., Charleston, SC
“The four tiger maple Windsor kitchen chairs Mark made for us are wonderful and we get to enjoy them every day. We are very thankful for both their beauty, the extraordinary workmanship, and the comfortable design.”
— L.G., Connecticut
“I'm writing to express our total delight with the chairs and settee! They are such a sweet refinement of the Windsor design. I relish the delicacy of the spindles, the widening at joints, and the subtle indented line that follows the upper supports; you mentioned that is done by hand with a formed piece of tool steel (scraper), I think. And I really enjoy the angled junction of the arm to the back of the armchair!”
— L.S., Santa Cruz, CA
Contact
Contact
Please call or email to talk with Mark about his work, arrange a visit to the workshop, or to discuss an order.
(304) 772-5052