Kerry Pierce

After earning a bachelor’s degree in English from Bowling Green State University (and later a master’s in art from Ohio University, Kerry Pierce simultaneously began two careers, working for 32 years as a teacher of secondary English and working for 35 years as a furniture maker and writer specializing in Shaker and Shaker-inspired work. He’s the author of 18 books, five of which focus on Shaker furniture and woodenware. One of the most recent of these-- "Pleasant Hill Shaker Furniture"-- is the first book-length study of that community’s melding of the Shaker aesthetic and the rural traditions of Kentucky furniture. The most recent of his Shaker titles is "Storage and Shelving the Shaker Way", the first book-length presentation of the ingenious methods by which Shaker craftsmen brought order to their physical world. His next book-- "Hand Planes in the Modern Shop"-- will be published in the Fall of 2010.

Two of his Shaker titles—"Pleasant Hill Shaker Furniture" and "Making Shaker Woodenware"—have been translated into German.

Positive reviews of his books—in particular "The Custom Furniture Sourcebook" and "Pleasant Hill Shaker Furniture"—have appeared in The Columbus Dispatch, The Chicago Daily Herald, and many other other papers. In addition positive reviews have appeared in Woodshop News, Popular Woodworking, Library Journal, Canadian Woodworking and other magazines. They have also received positive reviews in many web publications.

Twenty-two of his 150+ magazine articles (for Woodwork, Popular Woodworking, Woodcraft, Woodshop News, and The Woodworker’s Journal and others) focus on this genre of woodworking.

He served as Contributing Editor of Woodwork magazine from 1995-2007.