Blog RSS

From the M&T Daily Dispatch: 

From the M&T Daily Dispatch: 

From the M&T Daily Dispatch: 

From the M&T Daily Dispatch: 

From the M&T Daily Dispatch: 

M&T: Tell us about your process of making. Are any two objects ever the same? JS: They can be to a degree, but I love to give them a slight difference. For example, when I make butter knives in batches of 20 or 30, I use a paper template to make each outline. But when I shave them down, they always come out slightly different because of small variations in the material. I have to make a decision on each one – is this going to taper a little more here or there? I can’t produce exactly the same thing every time – although it is possible do that working by hand, but what’s the point? My aim is to...

We are excited to announce that our latest production, The Makers’ Marks: An In-depth Study of Handmade Furniture, is now available for purchase. This online course is an ambitious investigation into a number of examples of chairs (Post-and-rung, Windsor, and stump chairs), tables (worktables, tea table, drop leaf), desks (slant-front and standing), a chest of drawers, and a hanging cupboard. It’s quite an assortment of workmanship that displays everything from refined precision to humble utilitarianism. This course covers the gamut. The course is the kind of thing we’ve hoped to do for a long time. Over the years of writing and teaching about authentic handwork, we’ve become convinced that people need to see it to really understand it. But without...

If you’ve haven’t yet, you should read Chris’ dedication to the late Nancy Hiller. It is a beautiful piece and every word of it rings to true as I think back on my friendship with Nancy.  And Chris is not exaggerating in his portrayal of her tenacity and commitment. Nancy had an extreme dedication to excellence. As copy editor on Another Work is Possible, Nancy bent over backwards for us when things went awry in the production process. She was obsessed with getting things just right. In the midst of the production collaboration, there was a mix-up after copy editing that potentially compromised some areas of the text, but there was no way of knowing where without re-reading the whole thing....

This week, Mike and I are in the final stages of producing a new video course designed to be a heads-first dive into the guts of genuine antique chairs, chests, desks, tables, etc. We’re calling it The Makers’ Marks: An In-depth Study of Handmade Furniture. We’ve been looking for ways to make more use of our online course format, seeing as the Apprenticeship Program has been such a smashing success. It turns out that the power of video to bring you right up close to the action is just the ticket for conveying certain things about the craft. And showing genuine pre-industrial workmanship is definitely one of those things. In this upcoming course (scheduled for release at the end of the...

Through Genki-san’s recommendation, I visited a traditional tool shop in the northeastern part of Tokyo that specializes in high-quality woodworking tools. The visit was enriching, almost like a spiritual experience. I visited with the owner, Inoue-san, a very knowledgeable man who, besides selling tools to professionals and hobbyists, teaches woodworking at a nearby high school. Before this visit, I purchased my woodworking tools online, so seeing and holding the tools like this was eye-opening. I told Inoue-san I was looking for a smaller plane and a dovetailing chisel, and over a cup of coffee he explained which tools would suit me based on my needs and my budget. After I settled on the plane and chisel that I wanted, Inoue-san...