An interior spread from “A Visitor Comes to Covington.”
Late last month, a package arrived from our researcher, Suzanne “Saucy Indexer” Ellison. I opened the package, saw it was a handmade book, and immediately set it aside. I was in the middle of teaching a chair class, plus my oldest daughter was about to arrive from Pittsburgh for her birthday.
After all the visitors – students, Maddy and her fiance – had left, I sat down with the book so I could give it my full attention. It is, of course, a fantastic document and a good story. It has everything: drinking, cats, a turtle and a mysterious visitor.
Suzanne kindly agreed to allow me to share the book with you via a video reading. If the video doesn’t appear in your mail reader, click this link to watch it.
I hope this story brightens your Sunday. Tomorrow, we’ll post Suzanne’s story about how she made the book, which is just as interesting as the book itself.
Pantry Fields. The original house at right. The banana boxes at left. Photo courtesy of Anne and David Sears.
When Welsh chairmaker John Brown put down roots in Pembrokeshire, Wales, he and his wife, Anne, lived in two railway cars – Fyffes Banana wagons – that had transported fruit around the U.K. up until the 1950s.
The railway cars were used as living spaces for many years, until the 1990s when they fell into disrepair. But now Anne and David Sears have fixed them up and turned them into a lovely place to stay on their grounds that is near Newport, a nice seaside town, and Carningli mountain, Tycanol woods and Bluestone Brewery.
I’ve spent a few days at Pantry Fields while working with Chris Williams on his book “Good Work,” and can attest that the plot of land is gorgeous. A serene and green spot of great beauty.
It also is an important landmark for those who appreciate Welsh stick chairs. John Brown wrote his book “Welsh Stick Chairs” there and built his chairs inside an addition to the original house. (Which is now Anne’s studio.)
The grounds also include David’s workshop (he is JB’s nephew), where he makes furniture, bread, beer and other good things. They also have a showroom of the articles they produce at Pantry Fields, including Anne’s pottery, David’s furniture and the illustrations of Sally Seymour (Anne’s mother).
More photos of the accommodations are available at the Pantry Fields web site. Photo courtesy of Anne and David Sears.
The price is very reasonable for the space in the railway cars. Details are here.
Even if you have no interest in stick chairs, Pantry Fields is a lovely place to visit. And if you want to plan the ultimate trip to Wales, with stops at St Fagans National Museum of History and Tim Bowen Antiques, then staying at Pantry Fields is a must and a privilege.
As always, I have no affiliation. I just love the people and the place.
— Christopher Schwarz
John Brown in his workshop at Pantry Fields. It looks much different now. Photo courtesy of the family.
The July floods in Eastern Kentucky that devastated communities also tried to erase part of the area’s history. Audio tapes stored at Appalshop were soaked with floodwaters and later covered with mold.
Appalshop has been salvaging what they can, and have been digitizing some of the gems they have unearthed. This is an expensive process, so donations to Appalshop are always appreciated.
Today Appalshop released the excerpt above that features Chester Cornett being interviewed by Elizabeth Barret. In the interview, Chester gripes about what all furniture makers complain about – how difficult it is to make a living selling handmade furniture. It’s worth your three minutes.
Dave Jeske of Blue Spruce Toolworks builds (again) a workbench to use during the Handworks show.
Registration has opened for Handworks 2023, which will be held Sept. 1-2 in Amana, Iowa. The event is free – registration helps the organizers determine the approximate attendance.
Handworks is – hands down – the best woodworking show I have ever attended, and I have attended hundreds of shows all over the world. Handworks is a true celebration of the craft, the tools we use and the people who practice it.
Even if you don’t buy a single nail or widget at the event, you will meet amazing people who share your interests. You will learn techniques from the exhibitors. And your faith in the future of woodworking will be restored.
Lost Art Press will be there – all of us. We will bring books, tools and will probably make some special edition something for the event. Check out who else will be there. It’s everyone in the hand tool world. And Roy Underhill is giving the keynote. And did I mention it’s free?
This show is not a money-making event for the organizers. They do it out of the goodness of their hearts. The booth fee for exhibitors is laughably minimal (like 1/20 of what we are usually asked to pay). No one shakes anyone down for money. So Magic Rag salesmen. No Router Bits that Fell off a Truck.
This is the good stuff.
Also, I recommend you make every effort to attend this Handworks because there might not be another. It is an enormous pain in the butt for the organizers to pull off. And every time they put on the show, they say: This might be the last. I believe them.
Why Iowa? Why not your backyard? The Amana Colonies are amazing. They are worth the trip even without Handworks. It’s a gorgeous setting with beer, good food and old buildings.
If I lived and worked alone, music would play almost 24 hours a day. (In fact, on the rare occasion when Lucy leaves town, that is exactly what happens.)
Many times it’s the radio (WMOT-FM is a favorite). Or an album or playlist based on my mood.
We play music in the bench room during classes, and several students have asked if I had a playlist I could share. So here is one that I have put on Spotify. (I’m not a fan of the way Spotify pays artists, FYI. I prefer Bandcamp. But this is the best way for me to share this. I buy all my music, and I hope others support the artists they listen to.)
This is my Mid-tempo-so-I-hope-you’ll-like-me Playlist. It’s mostly melodic Americana from the last 30 years with an emphasis on acoustic and electric guitar. Right now it’s 378 songs – more than 24 hours of music. But I’ll add some more songs to it, I’m sure.
I hope you find some new artists here. But in the end, you get what you pay for with free playlists.
Oh, one more thing: This playlist isn’t sequenced (that would take weeks for me to do). So just put the dang thing on shuffle for best results.
Because People Ask
I have other musical moods. At times I go into long periods of listening to the earliest recordings of American hillbilly music. I love it, and it helps me interpret and understand the music I listen to today. I also have an aggressive mood, which is where I play a lot of Husker Du/Bob Mould, Superchunk, Pixies and other post-punk and punk bands. And I have a Growing Up Music mood, where I listen to the bands that were formative of my taste today: R.E.M., the Replacements, Velvet Underground, Violent Femmes, The Police and others (some embarrassing).
Also good to know: I’m not an audiophile. My sound system is nothing special: Some Apple HopePods (you Hope they’ll actually work), plus a stereo with a Thorens turntable and Schitt pre-amp and amp. Mid-range Klipsch speakers.
I’ve always owned vinyl, CDs, cassettes and digital. I’m no purist searching for some religious sonic experience. I like vinyl because of its glorious artwork and lyrics sheets. I like digital because I can take everything anywhere.
