by Elia Bizzarri | Sep 29, 2025 | Chair Stories | 2 Comments
Twenty-three years ago I worked with green woodworking pioneer Jennie Alexander for three weeks. It was a major experience for me: I'd never spent time in a big city (Baltimore) before, never traveled alone (by train) before, never lived with someone so...
by Elia Bizzarri | May 13, 2025 | Chair Stories | 20 Comments
My kind, sweet, gentle papa passed on May 1st. It was both expected and unexpected, the best possible passing and the saddest day of my life. My wife Morgan, my mother, and I were all there, holding his hand. Driving down to my parent's house that morning, I decided I...
by Elia Bizzarri | Jul 4, 2024 | Chair Stories, Classes, Samuel Wing Book Project | 4 Comments
I've been gone for what seems like forever. In the beginning of June, my wife and I went on vacation for a week with the ultimate goal of Eric Cannizzaro's shop in Vermont. There I taught a green woodworking class with Eric for a week. It's a pretty idyllic...
by Elia Bizzarri | Apr 29, 2023 | Chair Stories | 13 Comments
I have just returned from a road trip to Michigan with my friend Bill Anderson. The trip had a dual focus: deliver 40 chairs and learn to make a barrel. This by far the largest chair order I've ever gotten. What fun! I'd take another job like this tomorrow -...
by Elia Bizzarri | Mar 30, 2022 | Chair Stories | 4 Comments
This is a story for John and his family. It's also for Scott, who's Comb Back Arm Chair and Windsor Table were delivered last month. I wrote the story in the middle of January, when it happened: John Braxton died a couple weeks ago. A Quaker gunsmith, he machined...
by Elia Bizzarri | Feb 25, 2022 | Chair Stories, Classes | 5 Comments
As most of you know, I'm at Curtis Buchanan's designing a Loop Back Arm chair. On the second day we had a visitor from NC, Reid Gamble who has been apprenticing with laddarback chairmaker Lyle Wheeler. First we bored for the bent stretcher. Curtis had to climb...
by Elia Bizzarri | Feb 23, 2022 | Chair Stories, Classes | 3 Comments
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...
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...
by Elia Bizzarri | Oct 31, 2021 | Chair Stories | 3 Comments
I still remember the excitement I felt. I was 16 years old, returning home from a week’s camping trip. My mother's first words were, “Roy Underhill called!” We couldn’t believe it. Weeks before, my mother had found his number on the internet and left a message seeking...
by Elia Bizzarri | Sep 2, 2021 | Chair Stories | 0 Comments
This afternoon Edward picked up a set of four custom walnut and oak swivel bar stools that his wife Phyllis had helped design. Here’s a story about their chairs: Note: Nobody was hurt in this story. Other than a plastic compost bin. “I recommend this tree crew to all...
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