Way back in 1987, I was lucky enough to be hired by Camosun College to start and run a Fine Furniture Program. I remember thinking on my first day that I was completely faking it and would likely be caught and sent home by lunch time, but the first day actually went rather well and I wound up staying on for 30 more years.
In the year 2000, I accepted a 1/2 time job in administration, which allowed a second instructor, Ken Guenter, to join me and together we taught the program for the next 17 years. Along the way we met some great (and very talented) folks so as a retirement project together, we decided to have a celebration exhibition featuring some of our many talented grads.
The exhibition is now up and running and will continue through September 22nd. The Legacy Gallery is located at the corner of Yates & Broad Streets in Downtown Victoria and is open 10am to 5pm Wednesday through Saturday with a late opening to 8pm on Thursdays.
Karen has a chair in the exhibition made of Sapele (a species of African Mahogany) with figured Western Maple on the back splat and a leather upholstered seat
I (Cam) took a little less conventional approach and designed a garden chair that could easily be moved around the lawn. It's name is "I Like my Morning Coffee in the Sun and my Afternoon Tea in the Shade". It was huge fun integrating the bicycle parts into the whole structure in a finished that would be both comfortable to sit in, but would also function like a wheelbarrow.
So, yes, I (Cam) got to have the image of my chair on the poster but only because it was the only piece finished and photographed when the deadline for the poster design arrived...
It seems like we've done quite a few pieces this past year in the Arts & Crafts style. This pair of settees is a great example. Really straightforward linear design lines with nice wide arms (suitably sized for a beer & grilled cheese) and grandchild-proof finish with hard wearing leather cushions.
Although these settees were straightforward and really a pleasure to build, they are an exercise in repetitive machine woodworking. Considering that each one has 67 spindles which are joined to their upper and lower rails by a mortise and tenon joint there were 268 mortise holes to be bored and cleaned out and since each tenon requires 4 cuts, a total of 1072 passes over the table saw - phew...
We just completed and delivered our latest project - a speaking podium for Crofton House Girls school in Vancouver. The job was sent our way by our friends and customers, Richard and Christine of Shick, Shiner & Associates who oversaw the renovation of the auditorium at the school. The podium had to be made to roll on and off stage, have a built-in LED lighting strip on a dimmer switch, and house a "Crestron" touch screen. The finish also had to match the millwork in the auditorium, so we spent a few hours of experimentation to get the colour just right. All in all a really challenging but fun job.
Karen and Cam are proud to be associated with a second One Tree Exhibition opening in just a few days.
Cam built a chest and matching mirror using 314 walnut tiles that highlight the contrast between the dark brown wood that everyone thinks of when they picture the colour walnut and the light coloured sapwood that grows near the outside of the tree.
Karen has done a Laptop Desk and matching Chair. The desk top and chair seat are both covered with identical leather. The desk drawers pull out on double-dovetail slides which allow them to extend fully and provide storage for even the largest laptop computer. Another cool feature is the power bar which has 2 110 volt outlet plugs as well as 2 USB charging ports. It is accessed by pushing a walnut shell on the front panel which activates a rod beneath the top and releases a spring-loaded catch to reveal the electrical panel.
For more information on the One Tree history and exhibition have a look at this link:
On Saturday, November 4th we were interviewed by Sheryl MacKay, the host of North by Northwest, a CBC radio show that features Artists, Musicians and Craftspeople from all over British Columbia. The Interview coincided with the Fall Studio Tour of the Cowichan Valley Artisan's group we belong to. The coverage made for an incredibly busy and successful weekend, with 56 people through on Saturday and a record 79 through on Sunday.
You can listen to the interview by clicking on the link below:
http://www.cbc.ca/listen/shows/north-by-northwest/segment/14670459
Our friend, Richard Owen of Owen Automotive in Sidney has a great Youtube video he's done on the installation of a dashboard we restored recently. We always get the dashboards removed from the car with all of the gauges and switches removed so it's easy to forget the work that goes into the process before and after we do our work. Well done, Richard & Don!
A couple of very dedicated grandparents approached us last spring about constructing a couple of beds in their spare bedroom that would be a fun bedroom for their visiting grandchildren, J.&J.
The design was to be of a modern flavour incorporating both light coloured local wood (western maple) and brushed stainless steel. The platform bed is anchored to the wall along with the metal uprights and step structure. The trundle bed below is on large industrial casters, so it slides out. Both beds have reading lights wired into the existing wall and overall lighting for the lower bunk is incorporated into the platform of the upper bunk.
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We have now loaded our furniture bits into Portals Gallery in the Performing Arts Centre in Duncan for the next few weeks. We're there until March 23 - hope you get a chance to see everything we've installed; from a the brand new card table Karen just finished building, to an outdoor bench, some musical instruments, little car boxes and furniture for every room in the house.
So please come see what we ....saw - OK, OK, bad pun.
A few weeks ago, I ran into my old woodworking friend Colin Knecht at, of all places, the Home Depot parking lot, in Duncan and between the two of us we arranged for him to come over for a visit and see the our shop. His website: http://www.woodworkweb.com/ is really impressive and we were very glad to be made a part of it! Check out the video below!
Our new customer (and now friend) Holly makes the most amazing wedding invitations that are more like miniature pop-up books, than conventional folded cards. She came to us because she required a box that would house a few of her sample invitations and business cards. She could then present the sample box to wedding planners so they could show their clients.
