Progress

*I’ll be announcing New Classes soon!!!*

For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been working with Aspen Golann on our bench commission. You might have been following the progress since I first showed the drawings last fall. Here is a drawing of the bench I first posted.

Both Aspen and I have been very busy, so our time together to actually build this has been limited, but over the past two weeks we’ve made huge progress. We are still working with lots of dummy parts, although the spindles will actually end up in the final piece ( though they are still in process).

Here are some shots of the action. It’s been a real challenge. There’s a lot of complex geometry and processes. Much of the challenge is deciding which thing to do next. It’s felt slow, but as of yesterday, we are starting to see the bench really take shape. Blue tape has played an outsized role in the process.

So has curves cut out of plywood. While the drawing was a good start, there have been hundreds of choices to be made as we work through the process.

And as with all new pieces, we’ve had lots of unforeseen issues and opportunities arise.

It’s definitely starting to take on a gesture, which we are both excited to see. For a long time it was just parts and problems.

We aren’t out of the woods yet, there are some big choices to be made with the arms and seat, but then most of the work is going to be about making the final parts (lots are already bent) and fitting it all together. As far as chairs go, it’s a pretty pricey object, but I’d hate to see the hourly pay breakdown! The destination and getting to collaborate with Aspen to make something new makes it well worth it.

Stay hydrated and take breaks.