Curule seat

So of course, most of you have seen this already (and some of you have even sat in it), but this is my first piece of traditional medieval furniture. Based on the "Dante Chair", from 15th century Italy, this kind of chair dates as far back as Ancient Egypt. This particular model is completely made of solid oak, with a silk brocade-covered leather seat and back rest. The finish is a tar and oil rub with a wax coat on top. This was my final project at school and took about 100 hours of work, from planning to finishing.  

A new thing about old things

I am not a blogger (except that I now am) and this will be more of a public showcase for my woodwork and other various crafts for those of you who do not travel and "socialize" on Facebook, where my premiere professional page actually resides. 

When I started my cabinetmaking course, our teachers told us to take a day out "in the field" and visit three different cabinetmakers/ woodworkers to get a feel for and variety (and possibilities) of what we were getting into. The next day, one of the students resigned. But I found that although there was a lot of great things out there, there were very few fine furniture makers. Which is what I want to build since that very start. 

I then spend over two years in the program learning basic skills and gleaning the possibilities of what was to be a world of creative and functional art. To be honest, now-a-days, a cabinetmaker is exactly that, a person who makes cabinets, meaning carcasses of man-made material (melamine, presswood, plywood, etc...)  that will then be fitted in kitchens, bathrooms and other places where we need cabinets. And we do need cabinets. But you don't need to spend any time studying to build or assemble cabinets. Heck, out of the many shops I've visited and worked out of, I met all of four individuals who had had training. The rest learned it all while doing. And in that regards, we barely touched on the subject of cabinetmaking (ironic, I know) but we did spend a great number of hours learning to handle hand tools; how to hone and care for them, how to manipulate then and how to make them do what you wanted. We also learned all of  this with hand-held power tools and stationary tools but at first, it was only hand tools. Traditional tool, you might say. and for those of you who truly know me, you'll understand where I'm going with this. 

We also studied a whole bunch of techniques that separate the artisan from the hobbyist. Sure, you can learn a lot of this in books and online nowadays, but you don't get to learn it from someone who's been there and who has firsthand experience or passion about the subject. Which is where I lucked out. I had some first-rate passionate professionals imparting their love of the trade to me. 

For a while, I thought of specializing in "art nouveau"-inspired furniture. I even had an original angle on the subject. But in doing some research online, I discovered that that niche was being filled by furniture building artisans that were way better carvers than me and with much more experience than I. Also, the prices for these products are (rightly so) astronomical. Since I have the desire to live off of my passion, and I don't care for shaker-style or most 19th century or younger styles of furniture, I didn't know what my specialty would be but recently, a dear friend reminded me of my roots and my other passions. So once again, Thank you Steph, and I am launching my own thing: Medieval and Gothic-inspired furniture for the 21st century!

I now welcome you to follow me on what is sure to be a slow but interesting trip and please don't mind the blog; it's my first try and this one is free. 

-Marc.