My name is Lewis Laskin, and I’m excited to announce a Jimmy Possum chair class in my hometown of Annapolis, Maryland. The class is from June 22 to June 26, 2026, and registration opens February 20 at https://marylandhall.org/studioarts-ws.
Background
Three years ago, I wandered into the Jimmy Possum exhibit at Queen Victoria Museum & Art Gallery in Launceston, Tasmania, and I was captivated. Shortly thereafter, I wrote about the chairs and my experience in Tassie (“Tasmania”), which you can read here.
Building my first two JP chairs scratched the itch, but it didn’t cure it. So I’ve resolved to make JP chairs, too. Some 150 years after the first Jimmy Possum chair was built in Tasmania, students will learn to make their own, unique JPs in Annapolis – about as far away from Tassie as physically possible!
Curriculum
JP chairs are easily identifiable by their unique legs, which pass through the seat and into the arms. Not only are they surprisingly comfortable, but their folk origins allow for broad design flexibility. Students will be encouraged to personalize their chairs, and I will bring a variety of modern and antique stick chairs for inspiration.
We will be using green wood (high moisture content) and a minimal toolset, authentic to the JP folk tradition. Much of the week will be spent sitting on Lefkowitz shavehorses with locally-forged drawknives in hand. Every student will go home with a completed chair, the skills to build another and a good understanding of wood behavior. Historically, JP chairs are not saddled, but you will have the opportunity to carve your seat if you’d like.
- Schedule: June 22 – 26, 2026, Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Capacity: Six students
- Tuition: $1,400
- Materials Fee: $100 for oak and poplar; +$100 to upgrade to oak and quartersawn walnut
- Ages: 16+
- Prerequisites: All experience levels welcome
- Tools: Provided
- Tuition Assistance:
- Through the School: Maryland Hall offers need-based assistance for students under 18 and for students 55+. (The amount of assistance is based upon availability of funds.)
- Through the Instructor: Financial need-based scholarship can reduce tuition by 60 percent (from $1,400 to $560). Application form accessible through enrollment page.
Location
The class will be hosted by Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, a non-profit performing arts and education center in Annapolis. This will be the first chairmaking course in Maryland Hall’s history, and it might even be the first public Jimmy Possum chair class in the United States!
The school is less than a mile from Annapolis’s historic downtown, best known for its charming brick buildings, the Naval Academy, Maryland blue crab and its proximity to the Chesapeake Bay. June is a great time to visit; we’ll be in crab season, and– don’t sweat – the school will have just completed installing their brand-new HVAC system.
Please email [email protected] with any questions.
— Lewis Laskin
What a great design, very clever! New to me.
It’s a fun one! I hope to put together some free plans/instructions at some point this year.
Hi Lewis, can we get some information on that tripod stool in the top picture you posted? I assume it uses tapered tenons? What is the angle of the legs? Thank you.
Hey Vikram, I designed that stool as a “pint stool” for a beer. My wife tells me it’s a plant stand, but I also sit on it in a pinch. I’m traveling right now, so I can’t put a measuring tape to it, but the top is about 8″ diameter and it’s side table height (maybe 20-24″).
I have made a few for customers in different sizes. To determine the leg angle for a given height, I use a right triangle calculator. The triangle height is the desired stool height, the short side is the radius of the stool seat. The calculator will give you the angle that puts the foot of each leg directly under the edge of the stool.
The overlapping tenons were inspired by a bench I saw at the Jimmy Possum exhibit. The maker had accidentally overlapped the tenons on two of the legs. I thought it was cool, and decided to try it as a deliberate design decision.
And the tenons are cylindrical. I believe those are 3/4″, but I’ve used 7/8″ for a larger edition (11″ diameter top)
Thank you for a quick and thoughtful response. It’s a cool design and I am going to try to replicate it. Best wishes for your chair class.
Thanks Vikram! A little more info on the stool layout and drilling…
I draw a circle on the stool with a radius equal to 1/2 of the tenon radius, then mark the mortises along the circumference of that circle. Do not drill all of the mortises at once. Drill one mortise, then glue in one leg and tenon it. Cut it flush, then do the second leg. Same for third leg.
I prefer to drill from the top for this design, so that if your drilling angle is slightly off, it doesn’t impact where the tenon comes out on the visible side.
Good luck! Feel free to send me a pic or any questions.
I was wondering how you did the overlapping tenons and mortises, so your explanation helps a great deal. Thanks again and I will be sure to send you a pic when I am done.