all
it Olde New England or maybe Colonial Yankee pride, but I take
the term ‘Windsor chairmaker’ very seriously. Circa
1740, Windsor chairmaking is a centuries-old trade that was all but lost during
the Industrial Revolution of the mid to late 1800’s when the
age of mechanization overtook the hand trades. At the
time, this mechanization was seen as an improvement and people
of the day thronged to it. It was now possible to turn out
hundreds, if not thousands of chairs in a day rather than just
one. Unfortunately, as a downside to this ‘new’ way of
making furniture, quality was cast aside for the sake of
quantity.
Like other crafts and trades of the day, the art of Windsor
chairmaking was quickly becoming passé. While some 300-year-old
mechanical joints, such as mortise and tenon, still survive
today, others were ignored and eventually lost in favor of glue
joints and assembly line methods of construction.
Today, I make my chairs with the same care and patience of
the original 18th century chairmakers. Each is
created beginning with logs that I personally select. I do not
have a shop that is full of power tools, noise or dust. Rather,
it consists of hand tools such as travishers, scorps, drawknives
and spokeshaves; tools which were used in 
the making of the
original chairs from the outset. I subscribe to the original
methods of construction using the mechanical joinery techniques
of the 1700’s.
Since 1994, I have been making Windsor chairs and studying
the ways and styles of the chairmakers before me. With me, it is
a passion, not a job or career. I take a great amount of pride
in each and every chair I create, whether it is an order of one
or a large order of two dozen.
If you are looking for a quality Windsor chair, please give
me a telephone call, which is my preference for an initial
contact. Email is another option if you prefer.
