Our factory is working on a new batch of chore coats that should be ready to sell in the next couple weeks.
This batch will be made with the Japanese cotton we used with the first batch, plus the nice embroidered patch and the custom buttons. As I mentioned before, I’m afraid we’ll have to raise the price a bit on the coat. Making nice garments in the United States is tricky and expensive.
After this new batch sells out, we will shift gears with the chore coat. Here’s why:
Our West Coast factory raised the manufacturing price – radically – on us.
The Japanese cotton has proved more difficult and expensive to get than we anticipated.
As a result, we will switch to a new fabric – an 11 oz. brushed bull denim – that is readily available here in the United States. It will still be black and 100 percent cotton, and it will still be awesome. We’re also switching factories. Tom Bonamici, who designed the coat, is negotiating with two factories here in the middle part of the country, and those talks are going well.
The new chore coat will still have the same embroidered patch on the interior pocket and custom buttons. And it will still be made in the USA. More details on the new chore coat, including the price, will be available in the coming weeks.
The only thing we haven’t been able to fix is figuring out how to make it cooler outside so we can wear our dang coats.
We have a full roster of weekend courses planned for the fall. Megan Fitzpatrick, Brendan Gaffney, Daniel Clay and Christopher Schwarz will lead these two day-classes in our storefront in downtown Covington, Ky.
The registration for these classes will open at 10 a.m. (Eastern time) on Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. See the descriptions below for details.
Classes are small – six people maximum. Each student is supplied with a heavy workbench with a full suite of workholding options. And the climate-controlled storefront is filled with natural daylight and features hardwood floors (which are kind to your back). The storefront itself is situated in the heart of Covington’s Main Strasse historic district. Students are steps away from great food, bars and lodging (most students park their cars on Friday and don’t touch them until they leave for home).
And if you bring your family, there are lots of activities for them to enjoy in Cincinnati, which is only eight blocks away.
Classes tend to fill quickly. If you are interested in a class and it is full, we definitely recommend getting on the waitlist. We do have spots open up.
Learn the fundamentals of chip carving – a decorative technique in which faceted “chips” are removed from a wooden surface to produce geometric patterns, stylized images, lettering and ornamentation. Through demonstrations, guided practice, skill-building exercises, and the completion of a decorative wall hanging, you’ll leave class with all the knowledge, experience and confidence you need to pursue chip carving on your own. One of the most attractive aspects of chip carving (especially for beginning woodcarvers) is that it can be accomplished at a high level with minimal tools and materials; all you need to become a great chip carver is a sharp knife, some suitable wood and a little practice.
This simple footstool is an easy way to learn two basic chairmaking skills – making a simple post-and-rung construction and weaving a Danish cord seat. The class is broken into two parts; on the first day, students will build the footstool using simple techniques (suited to non-chairmakers or chairmakers), and on the second day students will learn the “no-nail” method of weaving a Danish paper cord seat.
Alongside the techniques involved in this construction, students will also learn basic finishing techniques for chairs, using oil, soap or modern finishes.
There are no prerequisites for this class, apart from having a block plane and coming ready to learn!
Building this staked high stool is an excellent introduction to chairmaking. In this two-day class you will learn to calculate and drill compound-angle joints without trigonometry (or even numbers). You will learn to create a tapered mortise-and-tenon joint – the foundation of Windsor chairmaking. And you will learn to create the stout undercarriage that allows this delicate stool to support an impressive weight.
Students will finish their assembled stools with “shou sugi ban,” shellac or a number of organic hand-applied finishes.
The only prerequisite for this class is you are confident in your sharpening skills.
This simple footstool is an easy way to learn two basic chairmaking skills – making a simple post-and-rung construction and weaving a Danish cord seat. The class is broken into two parts; on the first day, students will build the footstool using simple techniques (suited to non-chairmakers or chairmakers), and on the second day students will learn the “no-nail” method of weaving a Danish paper cord seat.
Alongside the techniques involved in this construction, students will also learn basic finishing techniques for chairs, using oil, soap or modern finishes.
There are no prerequisites for this class, apart from having a block plane and coming ready to learn!
In this two-day class, students will build their own Cabinetmaker’s Sector, my modernized design for the ancient geometer’s tool, used for drawing, drafting and (in my shop) the layout of dimensions and joinery on woodwork. The class will revolve around the skills of modern hand-tool makers, including careful marking and measuring, mixing metal and wood, hand shaping, finishing and (of course) how to use the tool.
Each student will be provided the wood and the necessary brass hinges and pins, everything needed to produce the sector. The first day will revolve around affixing the brass and wooden tabs into the tools, riveting the leaves together, flattening and lapping the tools and reviewing the principles behind the geometry of the sector. The second day will revolve around shaping the sectors, stamping and inking the sector marks, finishing the sectors and learning to use them in the shop. Every student will leave with a completed sector, plus the knowledge of how it works and how to use it.
Build a Dutch Tool Chest in a weekend (working long, challenging but rewarding hours). Not only will you get a great introduction to hand-tool casework, you’ll leave with a small chest in which to store a core set of furniture-making tools – and the chest fits in almost any car. You’ll learn dovetails, dados, rabbets, cut-nail joinery and rules for carcase construction.
My daughter Emalyn, cool as always, using the spring pole lathe at Old Salem.
I just posted my first post at my new blog Eclectic Mechanicals. After all this time I finally decided to give it a go. The blog will, of course, be focused on woodworking and a lot of what goes along with it thrown in for good measure. I feel it will be a journey for all involved.
And no, Mr. Schwarz has not run me off or anything like that. I will still be posting here on occasion as well. Sorry I could not get started off with some good gossip.
A two-page spread featuring four Trustworth Studios wallpaper patterns in English Arts & Crafts FurnitureAlthough my paternal grandfather, Morris Hiller, died before I was born, my father has gone a long way toward impressing on me the kind of man his dad was. His motto: “Beware of unappreciative people.” I will never forget being reprimanded at a B&B in Scotland circa 1972 for not saying “thank you” loudly enough for the waiter who brought my porridge to hear. Lesson learned.
I did my best to thank everyone who helped with research, pre-publication feedback, photographs and other materials for English Arts & Crafts Furniture in a long list of acknowledgements at the back of the book. Aside from editors Megan Fitzpatrick and Scott Francis and book designer Linda Watts, the person who arguably made the biggest impression on how the book appears is David Berman of Trustworth Studios, who provided the Voysey-pattern wallpaper on the cover that was also used for endpapers. I consider David a mad genius and have written about him elsewhere. It came as no surprise when Fine Woodworking’s Ben Strano told me that he and his colleagues were making a video about David as an online extra related to my project article in FWW#270 that incorporates a piece of Trustworth’s “Hemlock” wallpaper.
But as I thought about this, I realized there’s someone else I should credit in this regard: Patricia Poore, longtime editor of the magazines where David’s work first came to my notice. Had it not been for her work, I would likely never have come across David, his fabulous 1910 shingle-style house (which merits the adjective “fabulous” largely thanks to his painstaking and delightful restoration), his adorable dog, Merry, nor his eye-popping period kitchen (stay tuned for a sneak peek, coming soon; his kitchen will be featured in the book I’m writing for Lost Art Press). David has advertised his wallpapers for many years in Old-House Journal, Arts & Crafts Homes and the Revival, and Old-House Interiors*. A staunch preservationist with an impressive portfolio of her own restorations, Patricia continues to publish content that’s inspiring, informative, and thought provoking.
A selection of covers, the best designed by Inga Soderberg, going back more than 20 yearsMerryDetail of paper on staircase wallDavid created this pattern, “Laborate et Amate” (the imperative “Work and Love!”) for his kitchen based on a set of Voysey tiles. The plaster moulding at the bottom is trompe l’oeil.
*Although Old-House Interiors is no longer a stand-alone publication, much of its content has been incorporated into Old-House Journal. Arts & Crafts Homes and the Revival is now published online with a high-quality annual print publication, the first issue of which is scheduled for this October.
At the time I stopped teaching in 2015 I was booking 18 class a year. It was a stupid schedule. I quite enjoyed the travel and learning from the students. But my personal work – my writing, designing and building – suffered.
Starting in November I’m returning to a limited teaching schedule – four classes in a year and no more. I am extremely excited (yes, I used an adverb there) to share the techniques and designs I’ve developed during this hiatus.
These classes will be different as I’ll be teaching little or no casework or workbenches (unless the French Oak Roubo Project III comes calling). It will be all staked furniture and chairs.
My first class will be Nov. 3-4, 2018, at our storefront in Covington, Ky., where I will teach the Staked High Stool. This project is a great introduction to chairmaking and working with compound angles. And everyone leaves with a finished stool. You’ll be able to finish your stool with “shou sugi ban,” though we’ll also teach spray finishing of shellac and some hand-applied finishes.
Registration for this class will open next week. We’ll have full details on all the storefront classes for the remainder of 2018 posted on Monday.
I hope you’ll consider joining us. The classes are small – six students maximum. The workshop is a great place to work with excellent benches and loads of natural light. And Covington, Ky., is a fun place to stay and eat.
Classes are small – six people maximum. Each student is supplied with a heavy workbench with a full suite of workholding options. And the climate-controlled storefront is filled with natural daylight and features hardwood floors (which are kind to your back). The storefront itself is situated in the heart of Covington’s Main Strasse historic district. Students are steps away from great food, bars and lodging (most students park their cars on Friday and don’t touch them until they leave for home).
Chip Carving with Daniel Clay
Høj Footstool with Brendan Gaffney
Staked High Stool with Christopher Schwarz
Build the Cabinetmaker’s Sector with Brendan Gaffney
Dutch Tool Chest with Megan Fitzpatrick
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