THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 23, 1995 TAG: 9507200201
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 38 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Brushstrokes
SOURCE: Mary Ellen Riddle
LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines
As we hurtle toward the 21st century, two Nags Head artisans are working to preserve the artistic heritage of a fast-disappearing people.
Woven into the very fabric of their furniture and turned into each piece of wood is a history of a nomadic people from the other side of the world, and of a master woodworker long dead.
So as we in the 20th century go about our lives at ofttimes breakneck speed, Michael Capps, 44, and Majid Elbers, 46, produce benches and footstools that showcase old-fashioned craftsmanship.
Capps is the woodworker. Elbers covers Capps' finely crafted benches and stools with original nomadic tapestries from Eastern Europe dating as far back as 100 years.
Friends for years, and each possessing an esteem for their respective skills, Capps and Elbers are just beginning their working relationship.
Elbers already has a thriving accessory business, with goods shipped to London, Paris, Italy, the United States and Canada. Each handbag, suitcase and organizer is constructed from colorful weavings collected from Iran, Iraq, Greece, Turkey, Russia and the Eastern Bloc. They are very old weavings, all done by nomadic tribes.
Elbers collects only damaged weavings and teams them with fine Italian kid leather to create her 72-item accessory line. Her daughter Raubiah enhances the tapestries, covered with symbols and richly colored natural dyes, by weaving complementary panels on some of the accessories.
Elbers tries to use as much of the damaged piece as possible and occasionally repairs a special rug or cloth. There is an average of only 2 percent waste from each tapestry as she works to give the relics a second life. She is one of very few who are skilled at rug repair.
``There are very few people who know how to do it outside of the Middle East,'' she said.
Capps has been woodworking for 25 years. As a teen, he assisted an elderly man, Worth Grice, who did antique furniture repair.
``I worked for free for years as an apprentice just to be around him and watch him work,'' said Capps. ``He could duplicate anything. He designed a lathe that could turn out 40 bedposts at one time.''
Grice taught Capps how to cut French barley twist legs and make Martha Washington beds with the telltale pineapple adornments.
``I still use some of his hand tools,'' Capps said. He also credits Grice with teaching him how to select wood.
Capps' sensitivity to each piece and its special grain is part of the reason Elbers likes to work with him.
``He's a meticulous craftsman,'' she said. ``He has a great eye for design and is an excellent technician and artist when it comes to working with wood.''
Capps begins the process by cutting down a tree and following it through from the drying process to dressing the lumber. As he oversees the sawing of the logs, he can choose grain patterns that he likes and then ask for more to be cut the same way. He also works with exotic wood such as teak and mahogany.
But his favorite is walnut.
``It's just a rich wood,'' he said. ``It has a nice feel to it.''
Capps has done anything from crafting a 3-inch wooden heart box for his mother to helping a local boat builder construct a yacht for a Greek shipping magnate. He brushes his teeth over a teak sink basin he created. And currently he's building a teak wine cabinet with the help of carver and local artist Russ Beall, who is carving a wine barrel overflowing with grapes for the door panel.
This August, the combined efforts of Capps and Elbers will be exhibited at the Rosen Show in Philadelphia. It will be the first debut of their furniture at a major U.S. show.
``I'm stoked,'' said Capps. ``I'm really happy to be doing things with Majid, because she's such a special person. It's a blessing to have my stuff complemented by her fabric and work.''
``He's a humble man,'' Elbers said with a smile. MEMO: Michael Capps and Majid Elbers' work is on display at Greenleaf Gallery
in Nags Head and Duck.
by CNB