It’s no secret that I adore Chris Williams’s chairs, which have a direct and honest lineage to John Brown’s work. Chris worked with JB for more than a decade and made countless chairs under his eye.
In fact, I have to actively stop myself from imitating Chris’s work. It’s a struggle because I have one of his chairs sitting in front of me as I write this. I sit in it every day. It is a part of my family.
If you’ve ever wanted a chair that is tied directly to JB, read on. MARCH, a San Francisco store that specializes in handmade goods, has one of Chris’s chairs and is selling it for $5,000. It is an outstanding specimen of Chris’s work. Every detail is perfect – even to a chairmaker’s eye.
I know $5,000 is a lot of money, but I would buy it if I didn’t already own one.
If Welsh stick chairs aren’t your thing, be sure to check out the rest of MARCH. There’s some cool stuff there, including some chairs from George Sawyer and Brian Persico.
— Christopher Schwarz
That’s a swell chair
I have only made one chair ( a Van Gogh’s chair from a painting) I have repaired many many chairs one day I will try make a Welsh stick chair.
I should have been sitting down for that price but… no chair
I feel like I need to buy this chair…
Yes, it’s that good. But I think it would be a money-losing proposition for you. Maybe if you built one instead….
Not so fast… it will become even more coveted when people see “out of stock”, thus driving up demand and padding out Chris’ waitlist. He’s playing the long game.
I like that idea better… Plus then I would still have a Chris Williams chair… 🙂
Well I happen to own a special Chris Williams chair and it is worth a lot more than whatever dollar sign is next to it. If people could see the care and work that goes into building this chair, every step of the way, and how it is cherished by its creator…well, hopefully they will see that soon enough! And thanks Chris W for doing this.
It might also be a lot quicker for you to build one. Per the website:
“This item is available via special order with a 16 week production lead time prior to shipping. ” I don’t think they have that actual chair in stock so you’ll have to settle for a different Chris Williams chair. Hope you’re not too disappointed. 😀
They do have one in stock.
Now folks! I am able to enjoy a JB chair every day also. John’s ‘Ladies Chair’, as he called it, from the class at CW in 1995, sits in a bedroom here in good old Michigan. I look upon it as a piece of sculpture. I have had a couple of students build this example. Myself, I cannot get my fat arse comfortably into said chair. I might consider 10 grand… no, wait, I think I’ll wait.
That’s chump change in San Fran.
I know Chris wrote at some length about this in the past, most recently in a Core77 post… but I am not sure, as a hobbyist, that I will ever quite understand the pricing on items like this. There’s a dissonance to me in the price difference between the George Sawyer and Chris Williams chairs. And to be clear, that’s actually a high compliment to both craftspeople — in either case, we’re looking at a chair made by a person that is one of the top few in the world at the type of chair they make and approach they take to the work. Both chairs are undoubtedly built for multiple lifetimes of abuse. Maybe a Sawyer chair is just more readily available stateside?
Either way, kudos to both makers for doing what they do, especially their continual willingness to share knowledge and teach others, and inspire weekend warriors like myself to try to make things.
I cannot speak to MARCH, but every time I have been approached by galleries they set the price. And they keep 50 percent. So no thanks. Just my 2 cents for people who are outraged or confused.
Thanks Chris. No outrage here, to be clear — just seemed a weird gap given the obvious comparable skills and products being produced. Love the work of both guys and hope they continue to be able to earn livings making things — both as a nice sentiment but also because their work is inspirational!
There’s really something about the modern chairmaking community… lotta people looking out for each other and showing genuine enjoyment in ensuring the craft remains alive and well. Much love.