Saint Maud’s – a community workshop in northern Wisconsin – just started a 38-week course for 4-H kids to build the armchair in “Build a Chair from Bulls%$t.” Check out the first video here.
They’ll be posting videos on Instagram of the kids as they build their chairs. We’re going to follow along. You can, too. Here’s their Instagram feed. And their Facebook page.
The public workshop resides in a decommissioned Catholic church (hence the “saint” part). And the “Maud?” That was the name of a beloved family dog. (It’s not a religious school. I don’t even know if there is a Saint Maud….)
It’s a great little organization. In addition to the public workshop, they operate a “Sloyd Bus” that travels to surrounding communities to spread the love of handwork to kids. Read more about the Sloyd Bus here.
The workshop was started by Karl and Charlie Zinsmaster in 2022. Charlie (the father) is a long-time community leader. Karl (the son) has a degree in furniture design and worked in New York City and Minnesota before returning home to start the workshop.
We’re all thrilled to see this. The book (which is free to download) is supposed to make chairmaking accessible to anyone with basic tools and home center materials. We can’t wait to see the chairs come together during the coming weeks.
— Christopher Schwarz