I have a bad feeling in my colon about the following idea. But as I’m listening to my spleen these days, let’s give it a try.
My sketchbook is filled with drawings – made in 45 seconds or less – of pieces of furniture that are at some early stage of development. Some have been revised a few times. Most are just raw thoughts.
But I’d like to use these sketches to encourage you to try your hand at a 45-second sketch.
So here’s the deal. I’ve posted this drawing in our forum here.
If you want to discuss the design, you have to post a 45-second sketch of a piece (in your own hand that shows some effort). Post a drawing and we can talk.
If I (or anyone else) wants to comment on your design, then we’ll have to also post a new drawing.
It could be fun. Or it could go nowhere. It’s up to you.
We’ll have our Lost Art Press storefront open this Saturday, April 9, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with lots of interesting stuff going on all day. Here’s the short list.
I’ll be finishing up a pair of staked chairs from “The Anarchist’s Design Book.” I assembled one chair today and will finish that with soap finish. I’ll assemble the second chair on Saturday with hide glue and wedges.
My daughter Katy will be selling her soft wax in 4 oz. tins. We have wax there so you can try it out on planed wood.
We’ll have a fair number of damaged and blemished Lost Art Press books at a significant discount. These blemished books are sold for cash only.
Free “Disobey Me” stickers.
Store-only red T-shirts from “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest.” These are American Apparel shirts printed locally in Fort Wright, Ky., and we carry size small to 2XL.
Note that a lot of the above items are exclusive to our storefront only. The quantities are too small or odd to allow us to put them in the online store. So stop by and say hello.
— Christopher Schwarz
P.S. If you are looking for other fun things to do in the city this weekend, check out this calendar of events.
For about the last year I’ve been filling my sketchbook with drawings of staked furniture – applying the idea to a variety of forms.
Some of these ideas made it into “The Anarchist’s Design Book,” such as the bed. Others were dead ends or needed some more noodling. During the last three months several of these designs have really started to take shape, including an ottoman with a curved top, a dropleaf table and a settee (shown above in its still-rough form).
These ideas have all developed using a series of sketches made in about 45 seconds. If you haven’t tried making brief and rough sketches of your ideas, I think it’s worth a try. It’s faster than making a cup of coffee.
Later this month I hope to show some of these sketches on our forum and encourage others to try applying the ideas of staked furniture to other furniture forms. In fact, some woodworkers are already at work on this; Cody Carse showed his staked bookcase sketches here.
To prevent “The Anarchist’s Design Book” from rivaling “War and Peace” in word count, I hatcheted a lot photos and words during the editing process. Some of the photos that I removed, however, might be interesting to those considering building some of the projects.
The staked dining table and worktable are probably my two favorite projects in the book, and yet they are so unusual that I’m afraid people might dismiss them. So here are a few alternative views of these projects from the book that might give you a better feel for what they look like “in the round.”
Also, there’s a good shot of the dining table with a tablecloth – which is how the table would have been typically used for eating.
If you are in the Southeast and love furniture, I highly recommend you take a couple days off to attend a special tour of the Aiken-Rhett House Museum in Charleston, S.C., and a lecture by Russell Buskirk that is being arranged by Lie-Nielsen Toolworks.
The tour is at 2 p.m. April 7 at the circa 1820 house. The Aiken-Rhett house is filled with more Charleston furniture than I’ve ever seen before (most of it was stripped from the city after the Civil War). Charleston furniture is quite distinct, not only in the way it looks but in the way it was built.
I took this tour in 2014 and it was hands-down the best home tour I’ve taken. Read details about that visit here.
Then the Lie-Nielsen Hand Tool event takes place that Friday and Saturday at the American College of the Building Arts (be sure to check out the school’s incredible library).
I wish I could go to all these events, but I’ll be shooting a video that week and then minding the Lost Art Press storefront that weekend.
But you should go. Charleston in the Spring is the best. You can get details on the event at the Lie-Nielsen site here. I’ve also reprinted them below.
— Christopher Schwarz
Date & Time: April 7th, 2016 (2:00pm to 3:00pm) Location: 48 Elizabeth St. Charleston, SC 29414 Cost: $12 per person Tour Details: We’ve arranged a special tour of the Aiken-Rhett House Museum, a landmark historic home located at the corner of Judith and Elizabeth streets in Charleston.The Aiken-Rhett House was built in 1820, and remained in the hands of family and decedents for 142 years. Its rooms retain objects and decorations original to the home and its early occupants. Visitors will tour the home and its outbuildings, and experience the history contained therein.
We will meet at the Aiken-Rhett House Museum at 1:30pm on Thursday, April 7th. The tour starts at 2pm and lasts about one hour. If you are interested in joining, please call us at 1-800-327-2520 or email us at: toolworks@lie-nielsen.com to reserve your spot. Cost of admission to the museum is $12 per person. After the tour, at 4pm, we’ll head over to the American College of the Building Arts for a presentation by local furniture conservationist Russell Buskirk, followed by dinner and beers at the Craftsman Tap House at 6:30pm.
