Make a Traditional Appalachian Willow Chair with Justin Roberts

Make a Traditional Appalachian Willow Chair with Justin Roberts

Join us for two classes (April 6-7 or April 8-9) with guest instructor Justin Roberts Last summer we met Justin at the Furniture Society’s Annual Conference in Milwaukee. (It’s going to be in Asheville June 17-20, 2020!!!) We were excited to spread the love of woven chairs to a distinguished audience of fellow nerds and we were […]

Processing Authentic Bark at Brian Boggs Chairmakers

Processing Authentic Bark at Brian Boggs Chairmakers

Why is authentic bark so much more expensive than manufactured reed? The Short Answer: Authentic bark is time consuming, back breaking, and potentially hand mangling work. Reed comes from China, and as we all know, that means you don’t pay the real value of the product, the fossil fuel it takes to get here, etc….but […]

US Chair Caning Tour

Dave and I recently launched our US Chair Caning Tour with a trip to The Island Farm in Manteo, NC.  We were hired by the Outer Banks Conservationists to repair a few really old chairs that reside in a living history house dating from 1847.  They were generous enough to give us a free place […]

Stolen….Mid-Century Modern Goodness

In Denmark, Stolen=Chair (This post is long, scroll to the bottom if you just want to see lots of photos.) The Danes excel in every design medium, from home decor to the Sydney Opera House, but my focus is obviously chairs.  A few years ago I was humbled by Tom of Oddfellows as I commented […]

Custom Dye Job for Child’s Rocker, Part 1

CUSTOM DYEING REED WITH CARLA FILIPELLI PART 1 I had the good fortune to hang out with Carla and Greg Filipelli at their studio Cranberry Creek and try my hand at dyeing my own reed for weaving colorful seats.  They have been making baskets and sculptures for over 25 years and are part of Handmade in […]