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Many woodworkers have mixed feelings about modern design in woodworking. Traditional style plans outsell our modern furniture plans by at least 3:1, and the appearance of modern furniture in our...

Meet Reid Schwartz: artist, interested human, maker of tools, worker of wood and restorer of old things Crooked Knives & Curved Lines A canoe is a study in curved lines....

This Pennsylvania area developed unique and recognizable furniture. From its green rolling hills in the south and plains-like farmland in its middle to the nearly mountainous terrain in the north,...

This intriguing utilitarian design is at home most anywhere. As a curious designer I often find myself frequenting estate sales, online auctions and even local antique stores in search of...

Using your hands to sketch can teach your eyes to really see. Most of us use our eyes to avoid bumping into things; we probably are only using 20 percent...

In the hands of genius, ordinary items become fine art. One of the best-known quotations to arise from the Arts & Crafts movement is from William Morris. A founding father...

Look for the ‘bones’ to observe how form defines design. It happens during almost every furniture design workshop. At the start of day two, a carload of students shows up...

Getting off the straight path can be liberating. I can see it with my eyes shut: a curving stretch of highway snaking past Otter Cliffs in Acadia National Park. Each...

Simple joinery allows (time to add) cool design details. I like traditional joinery, and I enjoy working with hand tools. But I also like completing a project without having it...

As with woodworking skills, design and drawing skills take practice. For many woodworkers, design seems like a leap into the unknown. It’s one thing to teach our hands to saw...

Angles and an artful inlay set this Arts & Crafts-inspired design apart. I’ve been fascinated by interesting little tabouret tables lately, and it seems the more complicated the design, the...

Adapt a furniture plan with your eye. I think of plans as sort of a roadmap. They were a big part of my early work as a machinist and later...