youll note that in the last three weeks, i have written exactly ONE blog post, and that one i had been writing as we worked along on the project ... a record of blog inattention, even compared to my bloggavacation i took a year or so ago ... mr. dylan asks: what is going on here? i dont know, but, well, let me tell you, its all good. as you can see from the list above, we have (now) 12 committed projects, (13; one just came in by email) including two 54 x 85 x 26" deep recycled chestnut cabinets, a ten foot table, a 17 table, another dining table, six chairs and a coffee table ... lots of stuff. but, on the right, youll notice in the in process column 21 other proposals were working on, most of which, as of right now, are out in the ether, awaiting replies or commitments. the photo below was taken around 11:00 this morning, just before i started scanning and emailing ... just finished it all up a minute ago ... im going to write this and then go have a couple of tall cold ones ... click the photos to enlarge them ...
a few new models ... a 30 x 60 dining table with a steel base; a 60" dining table with two leaves and a stainless base; and a little mockup for a 98" table with a rebar and steel base ... with that project there is also a 42" x 17 table ....
an assortment of proposals, ready to go ...
next up, the two recycled chestnut cabinets mocked up with photoshop
along with those cabinets goes this 48 x 72" recycled chestnut pedestal dining table we finished last week ...
with 3 15" leaves ... better top color in this photo ... love, love, love my red walls, but they can really change the color of things ...
this 38 x 62 mahogany table with a steel shaker base left last week for california ...
bottom view with the actual mahogany color
and now were working on a version of this table we made in 2002,
the main difference in the new design is the shape of the pedestal, which the client took from our walnut and leather poker table ....
and will had to refigure out how to make the edge inlay blanks ... burl, bubinga and end grain peruvian walnut .. he wasnt here yet for the last time around and i couldnt exactly remember how to do it ...
heres how it looked at the end of the day today ... the edge inlay is all in and trevor will glue the burl center inlays in tomorrow in the vacuum bag ... a little clean up, some aprons and the runners and well wrap this one up ... i am planning a post on the whole table process, but certainly, not now ...
close up of the center inlay fitting
next ... this is the model for the 30" x 9 8" elm table with the rebar base, made from an architects sketch ...
the client was concerned that the welded rebar base might need some other support, but sam convinced me that that would be totally unnecessary ... just as a fun test, we took the unglued rubber wood 1/8th " dowel model and loaded it, and put a little side schoice weight on it ... no problem ... i imagine the welded steel base will be fine ...
to select the elm slabs for the table tops, i took a little trip to berkshire products in sheffield, mass last week ... if you havent been there or checked their website, its a fantastic wood resource with a great photo website.
bought this one for the single table,
these two for the 17 table ... they will join in the center around an existing brick 30 x 30 column ...
bought a little burl for the cherry table were working on too .. lots to choose from
big leaf maple from the west coast ...
the black and steel 60" table with the stainless base and two leaves ...
and we have a couple serious nibbles on the big claro walnut slab on the wall in the finish room. in this drawing, it will become a 9 x 50" coffee table in aspen.
and lastly in the new model department, we have this maple and steel dining table with a clever adaptation by the clients of our shaker steel base ...
and finally will got his banjo pot turning aparatus for seeders instruments rigged up and it works really slick. it a combination of wood and metalworking tools that, with a little help from some online googling and some parts from grizzly and mcmaster carr, he adapted the whole works to suit his process. this is the inside of the pot turning set up ...
and, to turn the outside, you flip over the tool holder and angle the base plate. hes got two more parts to turn for some banjo orders, so he is really happy that it worked as well as it did.
all for now ... thanks for sticking with me. gold star for you if you made it all the choice through. turns out i had to have the tall cold ones before i finished ... have a great weekend.
in a recent post, i wrote about refinishing a table i built 21 years ago in a style i am still working in today, and in fact, started working on in 1986. ill give jasper johns some credit for that as i often use his quote in the title above when talking about a design language. my introduction to my style was by complete accident in 1986. a client/friend who had been living in germany for a few years described this desk she wanted me to build for her based on some furniture she had been living with during those years abroad. i kind got what she was describing and made her desk, as she described it to me. click the photos to enlarge them ...
there it is, in the upper right hand corner, mahogany and black paint with brass hardware. my wife and i both liked the style and since our house at the time was more or less devoid of nice furniture, i decided i would participate in a show at a local gallery and whatever didnt sell (hah !), we would bring home for the dining room. well, we know how that goes, and i have had this lovely furniture in my own home for 25 years now. this was before the internet and before my book collection had grown to include anything regarding the biedermeier style. the desk above we liked, but was too formal for us so we used native natural cherry with the black paint instead of the stained mahogany. presto ... studio style ....
thats our table and chairs in the upper left corner above and our sideboard in the top left corner of the top photo. so, what am i trying to say here?. this is a post i have been trying to write for a while about, really, how did i get here? we actually did two custom studio style dining rooms last year, this one, and this one so on we go with it ...
so, here we are ... take an object, or a design, or a combination of woods or colors and try to imagine how they could be different, or similar but different; change a little here; change a little there; change a lot, but keep some stuff; keep at it; keep reading and looking; keep an open mind and keep changing ... when you look back 30 some years later youll indeed wonder how did i get here? , but youll be pleased that your designs hang together from the same thread or threads that run through all of it ...
you can add some inlays ... here we have a studio style half round with abalone inlays, which led to some bed headboards with abalone inlays, and we know where that went, which was on to one of our most involved and challenging pieces. more on the wood and metal style in a future post.
wood and steel tables ... the bethlehem steel series.
this time last year, we had about 20 inches on the ground and were bracing for what the weather man promised would be a big one. this year, no snow ... this is my 41st winter in vermont, and while i remember others with not much snow, or with snow on the ground for only part of the winter, i 
the view of stratton from big bromley, about 10 miles or so to the south.
above is my backyard last sunday, and it still looks the same today. flakeless ...
the mosses are fascinating though ...
theres a little ice on the pond that comes and goes, but the strange thing is that most winters it
not a flake in front of the shop door ...
and not a snowdrift in the parking lot. it made me think about the new metalshop that is in the wish/plan/finance/early permit/estimate phase ... might happen; might not .. well see ...
early design phase ...
the dirt road was frozen and my convertible is in my neighbors heated garage while he is in florida, and it was sooo sunny, i went for a ride ... top up, though the sun was tempting.
one more moss and frost picture ... maybe more tomorrow ...
i was in my outdoor shower the other morning, and was struck by the pattern the sun made coming through the canvas surround ... great inlay pattern, or great veneer patten for a pair of doors (above) on a cabinet, or as you can see below, it might make a great fabric or wall covering. inspirations where you find it ... click the photos to enlarge them ...
fabric
stratton mountain in the far distance, from inside the shower ...
where the pattern originated ...
