Lucy and I are soon moving to Covington to live above the storefront, and we need to divest ourselves of lots of excess pieces of furniture – mostly prototypes of mine – that have been stacked up.
Similarly, Brendan and Joss have a small apartment in Covington and don’t have room for many excess pieces.
So Brendan and I have decided to sell several of these pieces this Saturday at our monthly open day. As always with prototypes, these pieces are somewhat less than we would sell them for normally but that is for a variety of reasons. Sometimes they were interim designs as we developed new ones (but were too nice to burn). Or they are pieces that have sat around and got scratched or bumped in the process.
All of these pieces will be at the storefront this Saturday (837 Willard St., Covington, Ky. 41011) for you to inspect. Here are some details.
Tage Frid-inspired Stool
Brendan built this stool at the Krenov School (formerly College of the Redwoods) from tanoak. It’s inspired by Frid’s iconic three-legged stool with some of Brendan’s improvements. It’s a lovely piece. Solidly joined and surprisingly lightweight. Price: $800. Note, Brendan is willing to ship this piece (shipping not included). You can contact him here.
Three-legged Backstool
This is the fourth three-legged backstool I built for “The Anarchist’s Design Book.” Unlike the stool in the book, this one has round, tapered sticks. The final backstool had octagonal ones. I actually prefer these sticks but opted to go with octagons because they would be easier for readers to make. Poplar and oak with an acrylic finish. Price: $200.
Madrone Staked Coffee Table
Brendan built this table about a year ago and has no room for it in his apartment. It’s a lovely piece of madrone with airtight staked joinery. Today Brendan stripped the tabletop and added a new coat of Osmo. Price: $300.
Staked Worktable
Another prototype from “The Anarchist’s Design Book.” This table was the foundation for the worktable shown in the book. This one features a square top and through-tenon joinery (unlike the table in the book. The base is painted poplar. The top is white pine with a soap finish. This worktable has seen quite a bit of use in the last few years, but it looks even better with the miles. Price $300.
Dovetailed Wall Cabinet
Another piece that Brendan built at The Krenov School, this cabinet has a lot of involved joinery and interesting woods. It’s perfect for a set of tea cups or other treasures. Brendan has been carrying this one around and has no more room for it. Price: $400. Note, Brendan is willing to ship this piece (shipping not included). You can contact him here.
Staked Drinking Table
Yup, another prototype from “The Anarchist’s Design Book.” This is a charming piece that was just too odd to include in the book. The top is made from two very wide boards of oak (a bog oak butterfly secures a minor split). The legs are dead-straight red oak. Finished in shellac. Price: $300.
Come by and check them out.
— Christopher Schwarz
Would love the staked drinking table but i’m far to away from your shop to collect it 😀
Did you say there’s an open day this Saturday???
Yup. The second Saturday of every month.
Wow! These are some great deals on some great pieces.
Chris, how does wood movement work on the staked worktable? I remember the published one uses sliding dovetail battens; is this one glued cross-grain or is it just the tenons that attach the battens to the tabletop? I can’t make it to the storefront but I might end up building an homage 😀
White pine is very stable. Doesn’t move much at all. There is some ovalization (is that a word?) of the mortises in the top, but it is still rock solid.
Nice. I think I’ll have to give it a try.
Have you been quietly renovating the upstairs? Or was it pretty much glitter free?
Hey! I’ll take that coffee table if it’s still available. I can grab it saturday.
rommel wells wellsre@gmail.com
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Hey Rommel,
Send a message to Brendan and he can take care of you.
What’s the weight limit on that three-legged backstool? I still think that design should come with a caution label.
Does this mean you’ll have to surrender the horse garage to your wife’s Kia?
Any possible way to buy the staked drinking table and pick it up when I take Brendan’s sector class in September? I can do paypal
Hey Mike,
If it doesn’t sell this weekend, I’ll let you know.
Thanks
Did it sell? BTW, the recent Jennie Alexander post was spot on.
Nope. It’s yours if you want it. Send me a note through my personal site: christophermschwarz.com and we will make a plan !
Hi Chris, is there a science to choosing prices for your prototypes? I’m relatively new to selling furniture and I also have a pile of prototypes…my material and labor costs feel irrelevant in this situation. So just wondering how you choose a price. Thanks!
I have several ways of doing it. The price has to cover raw materials.
For some pieces, I charge a reduced hourly rate plus materials. That’s the formula I use when selling stuff I built for Popular Woodworking, for example.
For pure prototypes, which is what you have here, I say: What would IKEA charge? Then I know it will sell.
Hey, I know it’s a long shot but did you happen to not sell the square table with painted bottom? If not I would be interested.
Thanks
Robin Baker
Hi Robin. Sorry. That table sold.
Dang it! Day late and a dollar short is my usual life. Three hundred bux for the staked table is barely more than the price of the wood.
The scalloped top surface looks and feels awesome on that puppy. I’m sure the buyer will enjoy the table for a long time.
Well, Robin Baker, looks like we’ll just have to make our own darn tables. 🙂