A New Beginning
I think it was 2008 when I started my Chairnotes Blog. I wrote it for years and many hundreds of posts, it still exists over at Chairnotes.blogspot.com. In recent years, I’ve been posting Chairnotes through my website, but mostly using it to connect folks with information about my classes etc.. I’ve often looked back my first blog post with surprise, because my vision of my life in the shop has remained so unchanged.
I described my workshop as a laboratory, a place to experiment and explore chair making. I’ve definitely refined and shifted some of my interests, but mostly, I’m still interested in what I don’t know. My efforts in this fascinating craft has provided me with much more than I could have hoped. The most important being a community of students, peers and clients, as well as fertile ground for creativity on a myriad of fronts.
Each of my days is different, often shifting from one topic to another. Whether it’s aesthetics, tooling, wood technology, process, skill building or production, there’s never a dull moment and the questions keep coming. Perhaps the best result of my years in the shop is that now I actually revel in the moments of uncertainty that inevitably arise.
As a younger craftsman, I would race through those moments, in fear of being revealed as not knowing or understanding. Now, when I find myself in unknown territory, I know that somewhere down the road, a graceful solution awaits and one way or another, my efforts are worthwhile. Every failure delivers knowledge. So here I am, some 15 years after beginning to write, and as excited as ever to stumble my way forward and share the ups and downs with you.
I hope you will join me and consider supporting my efforts, either way, I know that most of my success has stemmed from sharing my experience, so here is where I will continue to do so. I’ll be posting my progress and thoughts on new chairs, new tools, a new book as well as my experience living as a craftsman and all that it entails. I look forward to your feedback and appreciate your time and attention.
Thanks for reading Peter’s Substack!
Wonderful to see the photo of Dave Sawyer and you. I was in the audience that week. I'd signed up for the conference on a whim but had no interest in Windsor chairs. You two looked like you were having so much fun I decided I needed to make a Windsor. In 2014 I got my chance. Elia Bizzari was here in Portland, OR at Rogowski's shop and I made a CA arm Windsor with him. It was such fun I resolved to make a settee. Some time later I saw you back presenting at Williamsburg. During the final day Q&A I asked you what special considerations went into a settee. Your reply was that there were none, but "watch the tapering of the center legs. They come in fast!"
Last year (2024) I got around to making a CA arm settee, using the kiln dried approach of your videos. Sure enough I'd tapered the outer legs and was starting the center legs. I was happily reaming away and suddenly I heard your voice in my head "They come in fast!". I immediately jerked the reamer out of the mortise and, sure enough, I was right on the edge of going too deeply. Fortunately, the angle was fine and I avoided having to plug and redrill the mortise. So, many thanks for living in my head for the last 10 years or so and saving my bacon. And thanks for sparking (with Dave Sawyer) an interest in Windsors in me and showing how to use kiln dried wood. I wish I'd met Dave. He seemed like a genuinely generous spirit.
Dave (Portland Or)
P.S. I'm enjoying very much your Chairmaker's Notebook.
Looking forward to it.