Monthly Archives: November 2009

Too much figure?

Posted on November 30, 2009 by walkerg

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 →

Posted in Design Basics | 2 Comments

Traditional design Vs traditional furniture

Posted on November 27, 2009 by walkerg

  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 →

Posted in Design Basics | 6 Comments

Furniture design classes for 2010

Posted on November 25, 2009 by walkerg

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 →

Posted in Resources | 3 Comments

Sublime echoes

Posted on November 23, 2009 by walkerg

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 →

Posted in Design Basics | 10 Comments

Super marking knife

Posted on November 20, 2009 by walkerg

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 →

Posted in tools | 4 Comments

Understanding simple shapes that make up a form

Posted on November 18, 2009 by walkerg

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 →

Posted in Design Basics | 6 Comments

Declaration of righteous furniture design

Posted on November 16, 2009 by walkerg

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 →

Posted in Design Basics | 23 Comments

Tips on sizing moldings

Posted on November 13, 2009 by walkerg

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 →

Posted in Design Basics, proportions | 1 Comment

Creating harmony with proportions

Posted on November 11, 2009 by walkerg

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 →

Posted in Design Basics, proportions | 9 Comments

Fitting tribute

Posted on November 9, 2009 by walkerg

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 →

Posted in Design Basics | Comments Off on Fitting tribute