The Chairmaker’s Toolbox is accepting applications for a scholarship class this August at Lost Art Press. All six students will receive free tuition and materials (plus some meals) during the week-long chairmaking class, Aug. 3-7.
Apply for this scholarship class here. Applications close on May 15.
The class will be taught by Grace Ambrose and me (Chris). During the five days, we will all build comb-back chairs using basic tools and simple techniques practiced by peasants and farmers during the last 300 years. No previous chairmaking experience is required. You don’t need to own a chest full of tools. You just have to really want to build chairs.
The Chairmaker’s Toolbox helps people who have historically been excluded or under-represented from the craft. We have supported this organization from its inception and welcome anyone and everyone into the craft. In addition to The Chairmaker’s Toolbox, we support many other scholarship programs for veterans, woodworkers with financial needs and those who struggle with mental health.
This class will take place in our workshop in Covington, Kentucky, which is a converted German barroom in the inner city. Each day begins with pastries, tea and coffee. Our bench room is filled with natural light and traditional workbenches. After a morning of chairmaking, students eat lunch in our converted biergarten (weather permitting), followed by a long afternoon of work at the bench.
Evenings are up to the students. Some go out to dinner in one of the many dive bars and restaurants in the 100-percent walkable neighborhood. Others cook for themselves.
By the end, all of the students will walk away from the class with a finished chair and the knowledge to make chairs in their own workshop.
This is one of our favorite weeks every year. These classes are filled with sharp and interesting people who are ready to change the craft for the better.
If this sounds like fun (it is), apply here and join us this August.
— Christopher Schwarz
