“Windsor”, wood burning on oak veneer by Joshua Miner III I’ve always loved traditional Windsor chairs, as much for their structural invention as for their comfort, durability and elegance. The general form evolved regionally throughout the UK in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Many speculate that the chair originated as a byproduct of the charcoal-making […]
Category Archives: california windsor
Level at Rest
Level at Rest I’m beginning to collect unbuilt chair ideas I’ve developed over the past few years in anticipation of designing a chair to make during my residency at Mildred’s Lane this summer. The chair will be used in new student housing and will be site-generated around parameters outlined in my evolving manifesto. In keeping […]
Kelp Report
Late winter storms have deposited heaps of bull kelp along the shores over the past week. I had some success experimenting with kelp as a material for furniture last year but am not yet ready to take advantage of its availability in production. I’d love to hear from anyone who has seen kelp used in […]
Berry’s Sawmill
Part of my ongoing experiment here is to develop high quality, low cost furniture from local materials for a local market. I recently paid a visit to Berry’s Sawmill near Cazadero to check out their operation and inventory and was delighted to find an authentic, family-run mill cutting sustainable yield redwood and Douglas fir from […]
Surf Shop Chair
I love this chair. It lives outside the Northern Light Surf Shop in Bodega, California, a town familiar to fans of Hitchcock’s ‘The Birds’. I pass through Bodega almost daily on my way to Doran Beach for a run, and sometimes stop for a chat at the surf shop and a dose of afternoon sun. […]
Bay Copse
In our region the Bay Laurel grows prolifically in the understory of second growth Coast Redwood. When mature, the tree can grow quite large and shapely and its wood has a rich, nutty brown grain I use frequently because of its availability and versatility. Yet the Bay Laurel is considered by many a weed. what […]
White Oak Windfall
looking toward the mouth of Tomales Bay We’re enjoying a spectacular fall in West County with warm, dazzling days and crisp, clear nights. The apples have been harvested and my thoughts have turned to loading summer-cured firewood into the shed before the rains and organizing my piles of timber for winter production in the shop. […]