You might have to take a seat for this one; chairmaking, as it turns out, is quite a controversial thing. The recent issue of M&T (#11) features several authors holding up different takes on this ancient craft. How does an artisan work efficiently to be able to compete in the chair market? How does the use of a lathe open a can of worms that has led some to an industrial mentality? What does 20th-century management theory have to do with the way we pick up tools in our own shops today? All these questions and more are explored in this episode. SHOW NOTES: Issue Eleven Fredrick Taylor, Principles of Scientific Management Jögge Sundqvist in Issue Six Amy Umbel...
Over the next couple weeks I will be releasing the table of contents for Issue Two here on the blog. Once a day, I will post about one of the articles that will be in Issue Two. The folks who saw the list at WIA universally agreed that Issue Two looks even more exciting than Issue One and so I am looking forward to sharing the list with you. Pre-orders will open November 1st here. We’re expecting a January delivery. I’ve talked about some of Issue Two’s content already so this first one should not be a surprise. As I’ve mentioned before, the Yale University Art Gallery commissioned a reproduction of an 18th century banister-back chair for their new exhibit...
When I got back from vacation a while back, I hit the ground running. In the past two months, I’ve written two articles, built a grain-painted chest over drawers, a white oak spring pole lathe, and an 18th-century Rhode Island banister-back chair. It’s been enjoyable concentrating all my effort on making rather than my customary conservation work. I’ve learned a lot through these projects because I am not a production furniture maker. When I build, it’s always a one-off of something that piques my interest. This recent banister-back chair build was no exception to that. When curator Pat Kane from the Yale University Art Gallery contacted me to discuss this commission for the upcoming Rhode Island Furniture exhibition, I leapt...
