On Friday we wrapped up the class and assembled six new stick chairs. Also, thanks to the generosity of Lost Art Press readers, all the students took a complete kit of cherry parts home for their next stick chair – plus the jigs and patterns necessary to make that great leap at home.
Making stick chairs in cherry is a special challenge. It’s not as strong as oak, so repairing a split here and there is common. Also, a lot of this cherry was curly, so that made it fun to get the surfaces free of tear-out.
But in the end, the chairs look great. And each one reflects the personality of its maker.
I’d like to thank everyone who made this class possible. Aspen Golann at The Chairmaker’s Toolbox worked with a few other people to select the six students from more than 200 applications. Megan Fitxpatrick (misspelling intended) helped me keep everything on track during the week. Harper Haynes, our summer intern, shot and edited the videos you’ve been watching all week.
And y’all – the blog readers – put up the money that made the class special. Thank you.
If you’d like to see what sort of seed you’ve planted, definitely follow the students on Instagram. Here are their usernames:
@donseehusen
@katiebister
@jjgoods
@charles_thompson_would
@leespoons
@finefolk_furniture
And expect great things. I sure do.
— Christopher Schwarz
Congratulations and a job well done to the students and the organizers of the event. That paragraph about the curly cherry is certainly understated. An incredibly beautiful wood.
Great job to everyone involved. love this kind of stuff.
Tremendous! So much fun and helpful. Like going to the glory land. As the music relates. Thank you Lost Art Press.
First time I worked with curly cherry(unintentionally) I didn’t know what was happening. Thought I was seeing things. Thought my plane needed more sharpening. Nothing worked. It did finally force me to learn how to sharpen a card scraper well.
Outstanding! Congrats to all! Can’t wait to see everyone’s next chair!
Planning another similar class? Willing to donate.
Thanks Eric. We are working on plans for the next one!
Any pictures to share of all the various completed chairs?
I don’t. I hope the students will
post photos of their finished chairs. The end was a whirlwind….