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It’s Friday, and that means I get to share more great woodworkers with you. Check ’em out!

First up is Austin Heitzman. You may recognize his work from the November 2018 issue of Popular Woodworking. He builds furniture and bonsai displays in Portland, Oregon, and his feed is a beautiful collection of nature-inspired furniture and tiny trees.

Next is Asa Christiana. The former Fine Woodworking editor is now living in the Pacific Northwest, updating his home and writing for all kinds of publications. You’ll even see a sneak peek of an upcoming project he did for us.

 

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Finished those shoji-style divider doors for an article in Popular Woodworking magazine. Psyched about how they came out.

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Wisconsin-based Tom Bartlett is carving up a spoon storm. Operating under the moniker Sylva Spoon, he documents his spoon process, including carving spoons at the Madison Farmer’s Market on weekends. Check out his beautiful spoons and behind the scenes processes.

 

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Well, this is fun. #cantfeelmytoes

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Jess Hirsch is also a green woodworker. She’s the proprietor of Women’s Woodshop in Minneapolis, and she spent the summer learning traditional carving techniques in Sweden. She teaches at the North House Folk School, and encourages people from all backgrounds to learn how to turn, carve and build stuff out of wood.

 

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Last, but certainly not least, on the list is Chris Williams. If you like Welsh stick chairs, he’s your guy. He worked with John Brown and is working on a book about the famed chairmaker’s life and work for Lost Art Press (in between building incredible chairs).

 

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My last chair seems to have lost it’s Welshness somehow. So I am going back my roots. I made a chair with this style of comb/crest near on twenty years ago. The sticks go all the through the comb and will eventually get a kerf sawn into them and wedged on gluing. The comb reminds me of a branch but it is cut out of a piece of solid elm with curved grain. This chair has begun its life starting with the comb. There’s been lots of talk of how a Welsh chair began its life which I do not dispute. I will leave that discussion to the experts for now though. Fortunately and on not being an expert I see things differently and start with what takes my fancy. I have used the term whimsical before and I like this approach. Try it. My chair making is confined to weird times at the moment due to a hectic workshop, hence my approach. I am not going to chop a chair seat at one in the morning but shape a comb quite possible if it takes my fancy. Historically I would know where I would be within minutes each day when I was churning these chairs out. I hope never to back there as I felt like a production worker. The curve on the comb bares no resemblance to the curve on the arm or seat but this isn’t an issue to me. Forget any plans. Please stick to the spirit of these chairs and don’t be a slave to plans. The sticks are made with my 33 year old No5 which I was given when I started my apprenticeship, firstly making the sticks octagonal and finishing the tenon fit with a block plane. No dowel or tenon formers. Give it a try it’s gets easier with practice. In the spirit of John Brown ‘ think round’ it works when your trying to achieve a clean fit. #handmadeinwales #williamswelshchair #chairmaking #chairmaker #welshstickchairs

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