Chairs In The Studio !

Tags

Hand-Caned, Heritage Basket Studio & Chair Caning, Poor Heating System, Ribbed Basket, studio

The last several weeks in the studio have been a mishmash of things going on, as there has been a real heat crisis at the community center where the hot water heat system was not heating any of the artists studios at all, it was just way to cold to work in my room without looking and dressing like the Michelin Man, however that does not help your hands when working in water all day, so I have not spent much time there.

While being faced with the possibility of needing to buy up to 800.00 worth of Eden Pure like heaters just to have a working studio with warmth. UPDATE- As of yesterday we suddenly have heat in all the studios, was actually the first real day in a month or more I can say I enjoyed working in the studio, without being chilled to the bone each night.

I am hoping the heat situation is resolved, as the 800.00 would have went a long way to getting my storage racks and luan doors for partitions to make my studio presentable to the public and myself, as everything is now laying on the floor, if I can do without investing in that many heaters, then hopefully by the end of the month I may be able to have the studio completely set up! What a Great Feeling for me that would be.

 

 

The chairs you see in the pictures mostly are chairs that I have acquired over the years that were in my storage unite in Bridgewater, that thanks to my great friends David & Robin Miller and their son Jason, moved for me on last Friday.

 

Amongst these chairs were several customers chairs that have waited patiently long and now they are in line to be hand caned. I have already started removing bottoms and started the hand caning as you can see.

 

 

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The Caner’s List

Tags

Caner, Caner's List, disappointments, list, scheduling, studio, waiting list

The Caner’s List– Now I know that many of you are asking the same question that many others before you have asked, what is the point of me putting my name on the Caner’s List. Also many of you also ask what is a Caner’s list?

I will answer the second question first- The Caner’s List is simply a waiting list of people waiting for caning to be done. When you put your name on the list, along with the type of chairs that you have to be done and the quantity, then as the caner works down the list you will be called as you are come to.

In my studio, you are called and if at that time it does not suit you to have your chairs done, then I usually will set aside one week the following month, usually the third week of the month, where I will move your name to and will call you back about having your chair done, if at that time it still does not suit, then I will move your name to the bottom of the list, which means that it may be 3 months out or sometimes a year or more from today. This is done as a courtesy to the customers as often there are situations that arise, that makes it not suitable at that time.

You know Caning is a lot like going to the grocery store, you walk in and look NO ONE is in line, however when you want to check out everybody and their brother is in line to check out. It is very much the same with caning/seat weaving, no one comes, no one calls, then suddenly and without warning everyone calls, so to the customer that says no I don’t want on the list I will call back in 6 weeks when you are caught up, they wait and then call just to find out, that now they have to wait for 6 months longer, had their names been on the list, I could have taken their chairs at 6 weeks.

I try to stress to customers, just because their name is on the list, does not mean they are making an obligation for work to be done, it is used as a scheduling tool

Please I urge all customers thinking of having work done to have your name put on the list, and avoid disappointments.

A Mixed Day of Seat Weaving

Tags

antique, Bottoms, Caning, Chair, child's rocker, drop-in seats, Fiber, Fiber Rush, Hand Caning, Herringbone Twill, hickory, Hitchcock Chair, Oak, photo's, Reed, rocker, Rush, Splint, studio

Child's Oak Rocker

This week is starting off with a mixed day of different seat weaving styles here. While most people unknowingly lump all seat weaving styles into the one catagory of “Caning” or “Hand Caning” each actually has different names.

Today I will be working on the 3 major styles. These Styles are Hand Caning, Splint Bottoms, and Rush. In the studio now is a hand caned side chair, an old childs antiques rocking chair, which has a splint bottom seat, and two Hitchcock style side chairs. One needs the original “Genuine Rush Seat” replaced with Fiber Rush, a tightly twisted brown kraft type paper in a rope like form. The second Hitchcock style chair is a newer version, which has what is known a s a Drop-In seat, meaning that the Rushing is done on a wooden frame separately from the chair, then when done the seat is placed back into the chair.

Child’s Oak Splint Bottom Rocker

The following photo’s show the rocker the way it came to the studio, the seat appeared to be Hickory, though worn and deteriorating. This set of photo’s will show “Before, During and After” replacing the old bottom with the new reed splint bottom, in the 3/3 Herringbone Twill pattern. More pictures will be added to this post, as they become available.

After

Before

During

Canning and Caning

Tags

Caning, Canning, gardens, Hand Caning, pantry, preserves, studio, summer

While most of the year is slow in the kitchen, and busy in the studio, and you have a nice balance between home life and chair caning, Summer is entirely different, it can turn into a real juggling act.,

When the dog days of summer hit in August, so does the produce from most gardens around us. During good years when gardens are bountiful and people share what they have got, then the kitchen looks like a cyclone hit it, especially a small kitchen. The simple act of canning a canner load of tomatoes, or green beans, peaches, or pears, which is certainly a lot of work, but in the end what isn’t.

Winter comes and you are rewarded of all of your hard work and long hours slaving over a hot stove. You go into the cellar or pantry, look at all the jars of home canned goods setting there waiting for one of those very cold days. You have a virtual buffet right at your fingertips.

Now for me I have to work hand caning in and around all this canning, by nature I am a morning person, which means do I get up early like 4 am, and start the canning, then go out to cane, or do I start caning first and then come into can.

Usually for the most part the canning is the first thing, along with a pot of coffee, mainly due to the fact that the kitchen had been cleaned and prepped the night before, so you just go and turn on the stove and start cooking, have your first couple cups of coffee, and soon the canner is jiggling away, get two loads behind you and then go to cane, for a couple of hours, then take a break and can some more.

So far this year I have canned peaches, peach preserves, beef chunks and pork loin, next is spaghetti sauce about 30 quarts.

Well I guess that will end it for this post now, tomorrow will be a canning and caning day all over again.

Spaghetti Sauce

Peaches

Beef

Pork Loin

Chicken Thighs

Peaches