In 2004, Martin Pierce began work on an extensive range of cabinet and door hardware [5] which includes the Willow, Ergo,[6] Netsuke and Hedgerow styles.
[8] In the Ascot buffet, armoire and tallboy, Martin Pierce uses gold and silver leaf to create scenes that appear three-dimensional.
At that time, a type of glue called sizing and whitening were applied in successive layers onto a wood surface, which was then blackened or colored before being varnished and polished.
Martin Pierce has borrowed much from the technique of japanning and the style of Chinoiserie but he brought them into a modern context, substituting easier mediums for the traditional varnish, size and gum Arabic.
Martin likes the raised textural nature of japanning, but he substitutes casein, which is a white paste made from milk by-products for its 17th-century cousin.