about.
It isn’t often that I’m dead certain about things, but with chairmaking, I was absolutely. I can’t quite explain it, but when I first discovered this process a few years ago, I knew instantly, that this is what I wanted to do. I could think of little else and my focus, from that point onward, preoccupied itself with Windsor chairs and their construction.
Like many people these days, I stumbled upon a video that simply mesmerized me. I saw a man in a simple shop, with simple tools, utilize a simple process to create the most beautiful chairs I had ever seen. And as I began to dig deeper I became more and more enthralled with the world of chairmaking and green woodworking; doubling down on the dream of becoming a Windsor chairmaker. That being said, initially, I told no one of this goal. It seemed, very unrealistic. And - living in California presents many obstacles to this type of chairmaking. But over time, as I began to collect tools and knowledge, my passion burned even stronger. Slowly, I began to reveal my wild goal to the people in my life. And eventually my wife and I agreed that we couldn’t be half in and half out. So here we are; in Northern California, and I’m making Windsor chairs.
We live a in a small town called Auburn. It’s placed right in the foothills - just before you ascend into the Sierra mountains. We’re blessed to live in the countryside where I have a small shop attached to the back of our house. Most of my days are filled with the organic sounds that accompany this type of woodworking. It’s a pleasant process; intimate by nature and has the ability to connect a person with something deeper. I look forward to making many chairs and sharing this journey, knowledge, and experience with as many as I can.
Jason