UPDATE: This chair has been claimed.
I’ve just completed this comb-back stick chair with some old-school details in black cherry sourced from the Ohio River Valley.
This chair is definitely designed for lounging by a fire or window with a good book, a coffee or a beer. The back is pitched at 20° off the seat, and the seat is pitched to slide your body toward the armbow and the back sticks. If you like lumbar support, this chair has a good deal of it.
Yes, you could use this chair at the dining table. The chair that my wife, Lucy, uses is pitched similarly. She sits up straight while eating and then settles back into the chair as we mull over the day’s business.
The seat height is 17”, which is about as high as I’ll make a chair seat. (If you want it lower I’ll be happy to cut down the legs before shipment.) The chair is constructed with hide glue, so the joints can easily be repaired a few generations down the road. And the finish is an organic linseed oil/beeswax blend. This finish is designed to age and patinate. It doesn’t provide a lot of protection, but it is easy to repair and looks better and better each year.
Stylistically, this chair uses many details found on old stick chairs in Wales and Ireland. Both the comb and the hands of the chair have a shape that’s best described as a circle intersecting an arc. This shape is found over and again in old chairs and gives the chair an organic look.
I’ve also allowed the sticks through the arms to remain proud and have faceted them. They do not interfere with the comfort of the chair, but they are a delight to touch. All surfaces on the chair were shaped with rasps and scrapers, so you will find texture on all surfaces, from the hands to the faceted sticks.
Look for more old-school chairs from me in the coming weeks.
— Christopher Schwarz
Just curious to know how much it was listed for. Don’t see that info now that it has sold?
$1,400 plus shipping.
Seems like quite the deal! Beautiful chair.
Lovely chair, Chris, especially like the comb and the faceted sticks. Can’t wait to see more of these.
Thanks Kevin. Much appreciated!
Beautiful work on so many levels. Your book ADB is helping me overcome my fear of building chairs. I’m not there yet but having done 3 desks, a small 4 legged stool/side table and soon a plant stand and 3 legged end table have helped me build the confidence to keep adding skills. The faceted legs grab the eye, make the light dance and compel me to reach out for them constantly. Really wonderful stuff.
Thanks NDI keep doing the stuff you do.
A beauty!! Love to see them.
I know some folks will choke at the price, but I worked in a small custom furniture shop, and our dining chairs were priced at $1500 to $1900 each, and that was a decade ago. This chair has a much bigger zowie factor than our chairs did. Well done.
Beautiful chair! I like how you shaped the sticks and put facets on them.
once again you have offered up a beautiful chair. so now I need to make this one myself. Thanks for giving us all something to aspire to.
I must say: That is a fine blend of chair you’ve distilled there, Mr. Schwarz.
Although not initially ‘my sort of chair’ — what with the Bambi-on-ice-splayed legs (with flares for chrissakes!) and the slouchy back … but there’s no denying it; It all comes together beautifully.
(I’ve even downloaded all the pictures in this post and saved them in a special folder named “chris chair porn”)
A damned fine chair !
Nicely done! The chair looks good!