CFDA Newsletter

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

ANNOUNCEMENT - from DOLLY SPRAGINS

Yes - a meeting of the Committee for Rising From Ashes: Furniture From Lost Trees at 6:00 pm at Corosh. On the 12th!

We will have a "talking points" letter that members can take to sponsors to help in asking for money. It will have info to help show what visibility their donation will get them. And "business cards" with the Rising From Ashes: Furniture From Lost Trees logo. These are being made by Barbara Bejna for us.

ANNOUNCEMENT - from JUDITH DIASSELLISS (webmaster)

Hi everyone - Just to clear things up, if you go to the designers page on the website ALL active designers are listed, and those who have submitted work have active links when you hover over their name it changes color- and from there you can activate their individual designers page. that page also contains the link for members who don't have individual pages to send me their info for me to post it.

whenever you can get the new list together (jan. 19th is fine) i'd be more than happy to update to members.

ALSO - i'm about to make the new calendar for the new year (the EVENTS link on the home page of the site) and just wanted you all to know that those resources are there for you. if there are ANY EVENTS at all that anyone would like to have posted all you have to do is send me an e-mail at any time and i can update the calendar for you!

let me know if you have any more questions.
my e-mail is jd@graphicnomads.com

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Program Schedules:

February 12- David Orth on Design. Everyone was uplifted by the insights David shared in his last presentation. The specific title and subject of this next presentation are still in development.

March 11- Where Do We Get Design Ideas? John Kriegshauser will lead a forum on this very relevant topic. After all, we have pieces to create for the two upcoming shows! John will explain how notable design luminaries generate their ideas, as well as where he goes to get his. Dolly Spragins has volunteered to weigh in on the subject. This is a membership participation topic; share your pet ways of generating ideas, and learn everyone else's.

Not yet scheduled- The Design of Large Tables. Chris Brandel will lead a forum on the issues pertaining to the design of large tables. Dolly Spragins, Bill First and John Kriegshauser will join in to share their own insights into the mysteries of large table design. Come and share your own experiences too.

Not yet scheduled- The Craft Schools. Let's hear about what goes on at the craft schools that have established themselves around the country from people who've been there. We're talking about Andersen Ranch (Barry Newstat?), Penland (Tim Cozzens), Marc Adams (Still need someone) and the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship (Tor Faegre). Can anyone think of a school we should add to this list?

Future Months:
The following programs are in the pipeline but are still under development.
Look for specifics in the future newsletters.

- The Design of Built in Cabinets

- Presenting Your Designs to Customers

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CFDA Meeting Report:

CFDA Minutes - January, 2008

Business meeting began at 6:55 PM with ten members in attendance.

Per Chris, we logged 13, 628 page loads on our website for the year. And a calendar of events will be going up shortly. Please contact Chris, John or Rob if you have any events that you would like to see included on the calendar.

Per Chris, Lloyd is working with the Museum of Science and Industry show regarding a sustainable house. It will feature green furniture and the CFDA is still invited and encouraged to submit pieces that may be available from our past sustainable show. They are especially in need of children's furniture and outdoor pieces. The show will start early May, 2008. Contact Lloyd for further details.

This represents a major business marketing opportunity, as there is an estimated 20,000 visitors per day to the museum. There will be in excess of 100,000 pamphlets and sponsor events. All CFDA members are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity.

Guidelines are being drawn up, along with determining submission fees for the Rising From Ashes show. Sponsorship contribution tiers are still being discussed, as is the available grant money that may be available to us. We are estimating that it will cost between four to five thousand dollars per each venue. Chris mentioned that Jamie may be able to clarify our classification as a tax exempt group and that could be useful to us for securing more money.

The Arboretum visit is seen as a prime selling opportunity for this show and per Dolly it's possible that the Arboretum might be able to handle the financial side of the transactions while we're there.

Also, Dolly's employer has volunteered secure storage space for all of our pieces for the interim periods between venues.

After Morton Arboretum the Rising From Ashes show will be heading to Ryerson Woods. The website content and details are still TBA, but our own deadline is set to be February 15th.

During the presentation a sheet was handed around describing a Call For Entries for a show called "It Grows On Trees" and which will be located in Ypsilanti,Michigan. For entry deadlines and fees go to www.semircd.org/ash/woodshow>> or to < www.riversidearts.org/woodshow.htm >. You can email questions to michiaganwoodart@gtlakes.com.

The business meeting concluded at 7:25.

PROGRAM:

Tor Faegre presented a program about furniture designs that don't include the use of traditional Western mortise and tenon joinery.

Tor studied anthropology in school, with an emphasis on 'material culture'. Basically this was a combination of ancient studies and the furniture that we built and used. Once done there he got into carpentry out of grad school. He was a union worker running the full gambit of roles and working conditions. Then about twenty years ago he began making rustic furniture for art fairs. Over time he gradually started turning down the carpentry jobs in favor of doing the art fairs.

His reputation in the world of rustic furniture precedes him enough that stores such as the soon-to-be-opened Green Home Chicago (213 N. Morgan) come to him for pieces.

Tor described how this has taken him to places like Mexico and India, where he learned in a one-on-one environment with a family. The language barrier proved a formidable challenge as he learned about Mudha chairs and stools.

Tor presented a wide variety of photographs from his travels, showing us that the form of furniture pieces is generally similar between societies. It's actually the materials that change. His Mudha photographs demonstrated this to us, as some were made from reeds and wood while others were made from discarded and re purposed bicycle parts. But the form remained consistent.

Japanese forms were also presented, demonstrating the use of bamboo for strikingly similar forms as the other two cultures. Interestingly enough, the Japanese revere bamboo but don't tend to use it indoors. But, being a 'culture of the floor' the irony is that the Japanese aren't a good model for utilization of bamboo in furniture. Bucking this trend, Tor showed an elaborate stair railing that he designed and installed for a green-minded family located in Evanston and which was made from Vietnamese bamboo.

Tor transitioned us to yurt buildings and a man that Tor knew who was responsible for the resurgence of this movement, Bill Copperthwait. As yurts are traditionally covered with felt (which does not stretch) the construction methodology is significantly different than with, say, tepees or other forms that use stretchable hides. This lead Tor to pen a book titled "Tents, Architecture of the Nomads", in 1979 (which is now out of print).

Tor passed around a maquette of a Mexican chair called an equipale. Again, this is considered a peasant chair and it also doesn't sport any Western-style joinery. The word 'equipale' is an old Aztec word and this form most definitely is pre-conquest. Modern forms such as Deco club chairs would be a Western analog for this type of chair. It is made with latticework and is lashed together. Tor showed and described variations to the equipales that have become stools and rockers. And again, the material choice seems to change readily, but the basic form remains very recognizable.

Using what he learned from these other cultures Tor has incorporated rawhide for lashing and seats and backs in some of his pieces. He continues to be inspired by these primitive forms to create beautiful rustic pieces.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Member Profile:
Robert Frazier

For the majority of my adult years I was a practicing pediatrician, working in an administrative capacity for the national organization of pediatricians. This allowed me to schedule some time (not much) for pursuit of my woodworking interests. I benefited in this regard from my father’s training in woodworking and the shop he maintained in our home. However it was not until I retired that I was able to develop my interests and my work space in the direction of furniture design and construction.

So from picture frames and orange crate furniture I moved on to developing furniture in simple geometric designs which gradually became complex. As a result I have moved away from rectilinear design to constructions based on the tetrahedron and was able to patent a joint based on the edgelapped intersection of three elements at the apex of a tetrahedron. In daily language this is a tripod. In practice it has the unanticipated capacity to be cut and joined in a range of angles and create designs that are suitable for stools, coffee tables, dining tables, pedestals etc. I have built tables based on one up to four pedestals, some of which are shown in the pictures below.

The table bases are generally in hard wood, though solid aluminum is an elegant choice, for which I use a machinist. Table tops are most often of glass.

This activity is probably best described as a hobby though I have invested considerable time and shop space in it over the last decade.

I have been able to sell a number of pieces but I do not give the time nor do I have the ability and interest to market these pieces well. My experience with the members of the CFDA has been very helpful and encouraging to me.