NEWS AND EVENTS: Fall 2008
Greetings from the workshop. It's been a spectacular fall here in Western Massachusetts, and my workshop is about as idyllic as it can be at this time of year. It is a short commute from home to shop (30 ft.) and a wonderful place to go to work. It was a busy summer with family travel, work on the house and, as always, beautiful things being created in the workshop. This is where all the magic happens.
Recent Projects
One focus this summer was a writing desk commission which was delivered in September. Made with some beautiful cherry and tiger maple, this was a new design that was both challenging and satisfying. It is also an example of an ideal collaboration that combined the specific needs of the client with my aesthetic to produce a winning design. I am excited to begin work on a chair to go with it.
Recently I reintroduced a hall table design that was first created in 1997. The original was in walnut and stood about 30 inches high. I had an opportunity to revisit it for a commission through the Dane Gallery on Nantucket Island in 2007. The commission called for a table in the same style that was in cherry and maple and stood 34 inches high. This piece was so successful that I created two more this summer. Each one is is a little different, with the most recent in maple with some decorative low relief carving around the edge of the top. You can see a nice display of my work on the Dane Gallery website. www.danegallery.com
I'm revisiting another design for a commission through The Artful Home www.artfulhome.com. I had created ten of these tables a decade ago, all with different carved border patterns. It's fun to come back to it now, like being reacquainted with an old friend.
Tools at Work
When I am busy with my work, my workbench is often a jumble of tools. Files, scrapers, handmade planes, antique tools – they all have a unique function and a spirit that makes my work a pleasure. Here is a snapshot of a moment at the workbench, at work on the hall table with curved legs. The wood is maple, and the surface I can get with one of my handplanes far surpasses anything a machine could do. The work is quick and immediate, and the swishing sound of sharp steel slicing through wood is music to my ears. Who needs the radio?
New Publication
I am excited to have work featured in a new publication from Fine Woodworking Magazine, Furniture: 102 Contemporary Designs. I have three pieces included: an upholstered settee, a pair of side tables, and my Temple Cabinet. The settee is pictured on the cover.
What's Next
Designs are on the drawing board for several new projects. There is a chair to go with this summer's desk, a pedestal table for a ceramic vase from Turkey, and a bed for one of my good clients in Buffalo, New York. I am also trying to work my way toward a new cabinet design that I mentioned in my last newsletter. All this adds up to make the workshop a busy place right now. Just the way I like it.
That's all for now.
