The Workshop Process
Come and spend from 3 to 6 days(depending on the project) in the shop with me, one on one. If you have some woodworking or power tool experience, I’ll
guide you through the process as we make one of my signature pieces, a Sofia Coffee or End Table with glass or wood top. You will use the same patterns, equipment, and tools that I use. I’ll show you how I make my design so that you can make yours.
Even if you don’t have woodworking experience, we’ll work together side by side to create an heirloom piece that you’ll take home and use every day. You’ll work with your hands, shape wood and make something beautiful and useful. You will have the satisfaction of knowing that you’ve brought to life
something lasting, that connects you to generations long gone who knew the joy and the value of making things.
I want to be perfectly clear. I’m not starting a woodworking school. The Chestertown Furniture Making Workshop is not about learning how to make or cut a better dovetail. It is about you making a piece of furniture. You’ll be immersed in a process, for a week, in a tradition that has existed for millennia but is disappearing in our rushed, throwaway world. It is also an opportunity to enjoy a slower pace of life on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. My goal is to have
you experience my world – “from soup to nuts.” In a 5 day workshop, on the morning of the first day, we’ll travel to Hearne Hardwoods, one of the loggers where I source my wood and with my help, you’ll pick out the wood for your project.
We’ll discuss the coming day’s work schedule starting at 9 AM, work until noon and then break for lunch, back at 1:15 PM until 4:30 or 5 PM. You’ll learn about wood selection, how to dress wood flat and straight, how to prepare wood so that you can create joints, parts and bring them together to make a
piece of functional, beautiful furniture. You’ll prepare your project for finishing and learn how to achieve a lasting finish to enhance the beauty of the wood.
