Jonathan Locke
Jonathan Locke is a gifted entrepreneurial furniture craftsman who uses his hands to craft wood. He has his roots in Guyana, and gives credit to his parents for his interest and nurturing of his talent. His parents, Donald and Leila Locke, were both highly regarded artists, whose works have been shown in private collections and at museums both in his home country, Guyana and around the world.
As a child growing up in Guyana, Jonathan loved making things with his hands. This started with the use of pieces of wood and old wooden pallets to build small projects, from which he built wooden scooters and a table tennis table. As a teenager, his curiosity was piqued after visiting the home of John Makepeace in England, who is a world-famous furniture-maker, known for unique creations that fascinated Jonathan.
In 1982, Jonathan migrated from Guyana to the United Kingdom, and then in 1985, moved to the United States. From 1986 to 1987, he attended Leeds Design Workshop in Massachusetts where he specialized in furniture making. Following this, he landed his first professional job as a junior furniture maker with the world-famous designer, Dakota Jackson who was known for very complex art déco furniture. Within three years of working with Dakota, Jonathan became Dakota’s top furniture builder and did most of Dakota’s prototypes that involved resolving very complex concepts.
After five years of working with Dakota, Jonathan was pushed to realize his dream of having his own business, Timehri Studios. He decided to take his developed skills honed along journey and fulfilled his dream. In a short time, he had a number of clients, who were ordering custom-made furniture pieces. Early in his career, Jonathan learned that coupling integrity with his knowledge and skills would serve him well, and his clients respected him for his work ethics. As a result of his dedicated self-application to his craft, one of his clients offered him a teaching position at the world renown, Parsons School of Design in New York City, where he spent more than a decade as a part-time faculty member.
Jonathan prides himself for his entrepreneurship of Timehri Studios for 29 years, until 2019. His New York based studio employed many skilled and unskilled craftsmen. One of his passions is grooming others to help them better themselves in the process of furniture craftsmanship. He has traveled to Colombia, Ecuador and Guyana, his homeland, where he taught woodworkers how to advance their level of skills to improve their craftsmanship.
In the last year (2019), Jonathan has been offered yet another position by one of previous clients. This time, he is managing the company’s window treatment production operation. This position allows him to use his creative skills in working with wood and metal, and he designs new systems for high end room dividers and curtain systems.
As a contributor to the upliftment of his community, Jonathan conducts auctions at events, along with finding the time to contribute to his alma mater through his membership of the Bishops High School Alumni Association of New York. In addition, he volunteers his time for planning events, and moderating townhall meetings held by the Consulate General of Guyana in New York. A prideful moment in his career is when Jonathan created a replica of Guyana’s Coat of Arms. This replica, made of exotic veneers from around the world, was presented to the President of Guyana in 2018 in honor of Guyana’s 50th Independence Anniversary celebration. In 2018, Jonathan conceptualized handmade wooden statuettes, which he cosponsored and donated to the Guyana Cultural Association of New York Inc.’s Awards Committee.
To his credit, Jonathan’s work has been featured in books, magazines like Architectural Digest, and BET Magazine, and newspapers, namely, the New York Times. Highlights of his career includes his receipt of awards from The American Institute of Architects for Craftsmanship, twice; The International Contemporary Furniture Fair, and the Guyana Cultural Association of New York, Inc.