Furniture Maker Carves Niche in Art World : The rich and famous line up to own the detailed work of Topanga Canyon's Tomas Braverman

From his brook-side, tree-shaded, Mediterranean house and workshop in rustic Topanga Canyon, master furniture craftsman Tomas Braverman creates unique pieces of functional art for television stars Larry Hagman and Harry Hamlin, KABC news anchor Paul Moyer, actor Robert Wagner, "Cheers" producer Charles Burrows and numbers of affluent cognoscenti.

One prolific collector is philanthropist and art collector Max Palevsky, who characterizes Braverman's work as evocative, rather than innovative, in the manner of a Charles Eames or other great designers. "Tom specializes in creating pieces that are reminiscent of an era. He is a master craftsman, a dying breed," Palevsky said. "He is an authentic artisan."

Moyer agrees. "Having a Braverman in your home is like having a Ferrari in your driveway," he said. Although Moyer's father died when he was 7, he said he remembers him as being artistically gifted with his hands. "I didn't inherit any of that, but I do appreciate it," Moyer said.

If Braverman's clientele seems limited to the rich and famous, it is because each of his pieces is one of a kind that takes months to complete and is, therefore, expensive.

"I did an intricately carved wine cellar door in Japanese white oak for the president of Bechtel Corporation," Braverman said, tilting back in a chair in the almost all-wood office sanctuary at one end of his vast workshop.

"The door took four months to execute--from the beginning of the commission to delivery and installation of the completed work. It was full of swashbuckling swirls and decorative pieces. Very Renaissance Spanish. Ornate," Braverman said.

The door cost $18,000, which the client could well afford for a unique piece of handcrafted art that will last the life of the house, Braverman said. But it is not something that just anyone could consider commissioning.

The exclusivity of Braverman's commissioners is both a source of pride and sorrow to the man who is chiseling his way into woodworking history.

"When you feel you have an artistic gift, you want to share it, to have it seen. The work of fine artists is in museums for people to see. The work of musicians is on tapes and discs for people to hear. Some people who are creating fine furniture in the country today are working under commission to create things for their city or state. I would like to create furniture or doors or gates for public buildings for the people of Los Angeles or California since the work that I do echoes our California heritage," he said.

Although Braverman can create a fine dining room table in the manner popular in 18th-Century England or a 19th-Century French armoire, he is partial to Hispanic styles. "I learned my skills in Spain. I love the Spanish and Mexican idiom. It is so culturally rich and vibrant. It suits my feeling for my work," he said.

It is work that, in spite of its creator's fear of obscurity, has been seen by the masses much more frequently as of late.

In the 20 or so years that Braverman, 50, has been carving out a name for himself in his scenic curve in the canyon, the trendy art publications and stylized living magazines have begun beating a path to his door. First it was smaller, esoteric and limited-circulation publications, but in the past few years his doors, gates and furniture have been shown in the ultra-glossies such as Architectural Digest and Angeles.

Braverman, who is soft-spoken and studiously courtly in his speaking-to-the-press persona, admits he is temperamental about his work.

He was displeased when one art and design magazine refused to credit a table of his that it pictured in a spread on the Robert Day house in Los Angeles. Braverman said, in disgust, that he was told it was because he didn't advertise in the publication.

He is equally unhappy with people he considers artistic Philistines.

"There are some people who come to my workshop who do not understand what I do. What I do is not make formula doors or tables or gates with doodads," Braverman said. "What they get when they come to me is an original piece of art, created on commission for them personally. They are buying my life and my talent and a lot of my time. If they don't understand about that--that I want to create something of lasting beauty for them--there is no reason to talk."

Palevsky said Braverman's attitude is not bravado or bad temper. "This is a very serious person. He has studied his craft and is a serious artisan. There is a touch of melancholy about Tomas, although he does get more cheerful with a drink," Palevsky said, remembering trips to the studio.

Braverman has made more than 100 pieces of work for Palevsky, including two giant, hand-carved gates for his Malibu home. "The gates are magnificent and are aging beautifully," Palevsky said. "I also have doors and tables and beds that Tomas has made."

Braverman values Palevsky as a patron of his work and as a person. "He has an appreciation for what I do that is satisfying," the craftsman said.