I am spending the next few days visiting with Curtis and Marilyn Buchanan. Eric Cannizzaro is here too. During the day we're working an a new loop back arm chair design for which Curtis hopes to publish a set of plans. At night, we are eating Marilyn's good food and...
Classes
A Cold Sunday Night
by Elia Bizzarri | Dec 27, 2021 | Chair Stories, Classes | 2 Comments
Yesterday, my father-in-law and I delivered a set of five chairs for Josh and his wife's new house. We met at a horse park and transferred the blanket-wrapped chairs into Josh's car. As I wrapped the chairs last week, I remembered this story: It was a...
Chairs for Sale (At a Discount)
by Elia Bizzarri | Nov 5, 2021 | Chairs For Sale, Classes | 0 Comments
I've never offered chairs for sale at a discount, but I find myself drowning in chairs. Many were built in classes, both online and in-person, while others I made by accident. I am offering a discount on them for the month of November (except for the last...
French Spoons with Jane Mickelborough
by Elia Bizzarri | Mar 31, 2021 | Classes | 0 Comments
"What did you do during the pandemic, " friends will soon be asking. Now you can have a good answer: "I made a set of French eating spoons for our dining table." Boy, will they be impressed. First we'll learn to carve a French eating...
Velda’s Chair Class with Curtis Buchanan
by Elia Bizzarri | Feb 22, 2021 | Classes | 1 Comment
I first made one of Curtis Buchanan's Velda's Chairs about six or eight years ago when a neighbor came by my shop and ordered two bar stools and a settee in Velda's style. They wanted the chairs unpainted, so I drove three hours to find walnut...
Chairmaker’s Woodturning Class, plus Bowl Carving with Dave Fisher
by Elia Bizzarri | Feb 13, 2021 | Classes | 5 Comments
I remember the day I first heard of Dave Fisher. I was standing in front of my shop talking with one of my students about Instagram and he mentioned Dave Fisher. He seemed surprised that I'd never heard of him, so he pulled out his phone and started...
Fan Birds with Jane Mickelborough/Chairmaking Videos
by Elia Bizzarri | Jan 31, 2021 | Classes, Craft Films | 0 Comments
I first met Jane Mickelborough when she spent three days with me and taught a class on spooncarving in my shop. They spent a day carving the spoon, a day chip carving and a day doing wax inlay. Her work is beautiful, with lovely lines and extraordinarily...
Spoons with Follansbee & Reamer-Making Class
by Elia Bizzarri | Dec 31, 2020 | Classes, Craft Films | 1 Comment
I've been looking forward to doing this class for a few months - I first learned to carve a spoon properly in one of Peter's classes and he is such a laid-back, entertaining fellow that the idea of teaching with him sounds like great fun. We'll carve a...
Green Wood Source List: By You for You
by Elia Bizzarri | Dec 25, 2020 | Chairmaking Tools and Supplies, Classes, Craft Films, Kiln | 3 Comments
Where do you get green wood? I get this question regularly and it's a hard one to answer. Seth and I sell oak splits for chairs, but it's not exactly cheap if you need a bunch of parts. My blog has general suggestions for where to look, but wouldn't it be nice if...
Democratic Videos and Upcoming Online Classes
by Elia Bizzarri | Nov 30, 2020 | Classes, Craft Films | 0 Comments
Peter Follansbee and I are planning on a few spoon carving classes in the new year, plus I'm hoping to do a series on making a chairmaking reamer. In the mean time, Curtis and I are doing the last two classes of the Democratic Chair series on October 5th and 12th (we...
Subscribe to Elia's Blog
Recent Posts
Search the Blog
Categories
- Built for Speed Book Project (8)
- Chair Stories (29)
- Chairmaking Tools and Supplies (39)
- Chairs For Sale (5)
- Classes (51)
- Craft Films (41)
- How-To (39)
- Antique Chairs (8)
- Drill Bits (3)
- Spoon Bits (3)
- Finishing (9)
- No-Glue joints (1)
- Sprinpole Lathe (2)
Donate
If you enjoy this blog and would like to donate, click the link below. Thanks!