Monthly Archives: November 2009
Too much figure?
Recently, the crew from Popular Woodworking magazine did a shoot at my workshop for an upcoming article on design. Chris Schwarz looked over some of my work and diagnosed me as having a curly maple problem. Actually to be more … Continue reading
Traditional design Vs traditional furniture
One woodworker and writer who had an early impact on my approach to woodworking was James Krenov. Back in the 80’s I stumbled on one of his books at the library. His words about making planes and how it allows … Continue reading
Furniture design classes for 2010
Would you like to give your design skills and design confidence a boost? I’m pretty excited about putting together some furniture design classes next year in 2010. June 26th and 27th is slated for a weekend workshop at Marc Adams School … Continue reading
Sublime echoes
I enjoy canoeing in the backcountry. A few days in solitude can work wonders on my outlook. One route we used to take was a loop that crossed a small pond called Echo Lake. It was close to the starting … Continue reading
Super marking knife
The focus of this blog is on designing furniture from a woodworking perspective. As a woodworker it means I’m always tempted to talk about tools. I’ll try to stay on point and keep it on design, but I may make … Continue reading
Understanding simple shapes that make up a form
I’m having fun putting together another installment for my Design Matters column for Popular Woodworking Magazine. One question I hear quite often is how do you train your eye so you can begin to understand a furniture piece that you … Continue reading
Declaration of righteous furniture design
In all the creative fields, every once in a while someone comes along and says “Good (fill in the blank- painting, sculpture, poetry, furniture, music) should be X, Y, or Z. We could make up quite a long list and … Continue reading
Tips on sizing moldings
My wife has a really good eye when it comes to picking out colors. It not uncommon for her to take months to find just the right color for a room she wants to paint. Once she stopped me cold … Continue reading
Creating harmony with proportions
This is the first of many posts to come on this subject. Actually you could spend several lifetimes looking at how great designers achieved visual harmony. Anything included in a furniture design from the overall form down to the smallest … Continue reading
Fitting tribute
Two articles in the December 2009 Popular Woodworking magazine are a must read. Ron Hock and John Economaki wrote of the passing of two woodworking legends, James Krenov and Sam Maloof. So much has been written already about this great … Continue reading