Paul Maitland-Smith Faq: Wife, Family Estate, Net Worth, and the Story Behind Theodore Alexander
Maitland-Smith refused to rely on computerized shaping tools or surface veneers applied over synthetic particle boards. His production philosophies were notoriously rigorous, frustrating accountants but winning the loyalty of top-tier interior decorators.
At Theodore Alexander, every piece of brass hardware, from ornate escutcheons to lion-paw caster feet, was made using lost-wax casting. The process required creating an original wax model, packing it in ceramic plaster, melting the wax out in an oven, and pouring molten brass into the void. Once cool, craftsmen hand-chased the metal with chisels and files to pull out minute surface textures.
He treated wood finishes with similar intensity. Carvers worked with hand gouges to reproduce the soft, worn corners typical of eighteenth-century heirlooms. Rather than applying uniform spray-gun lacquer, polishers used multi-step patinas, rottenstone rubbing, and hand-waxing to build depth into flame mahogany and burl walnut.
These labor-intensive commitments commanded premium prices. A single dining table could take weeks of dedicated bench time, but the resulting work possessed an authenticity that mass-production lines could not replicate.
