Grace in Pistachio

Another custom order for a set of "Grace" chairs yields this delicious beauty. The matching chair is a light coral. Very tasty. They should look fantastic together as they grace my client's garden path.

2010 Preliminary Event Schedule

I've been putting together my 2010 events calendar for publication to my website. Here's what we have planned thus far:

July 9-13 at the Woodlanders Gathering, Mineral Point Wisconsin. Alan Bradstreet and I will be demonstrating the fine art of walking stick creation and rustic joinery techniques.

August 28th from 10-2 at the Center For Maine Craft in Gardiner. I will demonstrate rustic chair making from design to seat weaving. I will have chairs on display and for sale throughout the summer so stop by! It's a great place to visit and shop.

Labor Day Weekend. Director's Choice Craft Show at the Center For Maine Crafts. The first of what promises to be one of the regions best shows. Enjoy early bird Holiday shopping in a festive atmosphere.

September 11-12 at the 23rd Annual Rustic Furniture Fair at the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake. The premier show for quality rustic furnishings. Not to be missed.

We are now finalizing plans for other shows. So visit my site early and often for the latest news.

Certain Blue

Another "digital interlude" finds me at the computer with Photoshop CS4 and a couple of billion pixels. I define myself as a "Rustic". To me this entails so much more than furniture making or carving walking sticks. The Rustic mindset celebrates inventiveness and imagineering with materials available at hand; be they wood, found objects, paint or pixels. Rustic making is just good old Yankee tinkering. Mostly you fail, but occasionally you follow that spark to something great. Life is short make art.

Reitveld Rustic

Or Reitveld Adirondack. One wonders if the dutch designer used the Westport chair as inspiration for his Red and Blue Chair from c.1923. In any event it's all good. Re-interpretations and re-inventions happen all the time. It's the role of the tinkerer, the Yankee tradesman to borrow whatever isn't in his tool bag to get the job done. With my humble heartfelt thanks to all the great designers who came before me, I give you Reitveld Rustic. With a shelf for books!

Rock On!

I took some time out from Adirondack chair making this past week to fulfill a customer request for a rustic rocking chair. The Chesuncook rocker design dates back to the late 1990's but it still looks sharp today. Sugar maple saplings are joined using pinned mortise and tenon joints. The back slats are white ash and the rockers are red oak. I have woven the seat using 100% cotton shaker tape. I'd be happy to make one for you!

Back To Back Homeruns

Spring is right around the corner and I'm already looking forward to Spring Training. For me that entails breaking down my machinery, cleaning and lubricating all the moving parts. Sharpening all cutting edges. Cleaning all dust collection air filters. Inventorying shop supplies like sandpaper, fasteners and finishes. Getting out the shop vac. Fine tuning my maker's eye and hands. Getting it all together for another big season ahead. Getting ready to strike out the competition and hit many home runs for my customers.

Digital Imaging

All work and no play makes Dirk a dull boy. I like to take time out from woodworking and head to the Adobe CS4 suite to mess around. This is called "jungle_work". It's meant to be really big so click on the image to get a better impact statement. The great thing about digital imaging is the ease with which you can change or redraw something. The manipulations and permutations are endless. It's like an endless banquet, a delightful feast. Why not take a byte?

Still Crazy About These Chairs!

I'm still nuts about my Nor'easter chairs. I have built a dozen of these over the past year and I never tire of the challenge. They look deceptively simple but the compound angle cuts really push my woodworking ability to another level. I've a customer up the coast who has six lined up on his spit of front lawn overlooking the Atlantic. They are painted in various shades of blue and green. One is coral. Another deep purple. They look like land yachts plowing the wind tossed turf. I have been sketching variations of the Nor'easter and plan on releasing a spirited new version later this summer. Until then here's to smooth sailing.

Super Bowl Party

I'm having a Super Bowl Party and I've set up eight of my Weekender chairs in my Man Cave. Each chair is roomy enough to hold not only some super-sized fans but the super wide arms will hold plenty chips, dips, chicken wings, barbecue ribs, those little hot dogs in mustard sauce, pizzas and lots of ice cold beverages. I am psyched to see the Who perform at half-time, the crazy commercials and of course the Saints win. Who Dat?