CFDA Newsletter

Program Schedules:

September 9 - Reproduction Furniture. John Gush will show examples of English and South African furniture that he has very exactingly reproduced. His shop is modestly equipped, so John relies on skill and ingenuity to deliver the spectacular craftsmanship evident in his pieces. John's work has been featured on the back cover of Fine Woodworking Magazine. Don't miss this one!

October 14 --The Furniture of Frank Lloyd Wright. Lloyd Natof has just wrapped up a personal study of his grandfather's furniture, and he will share with us his insights into the master's thinking. Whoa, talk about rare opportunities.

Some recent publicity for the Rising From Ashes Show:
(which opened Aug 22 at the Morton Arboretum)

Dear Illinois EAB Wood Utilization Network (WUT)
From: Michele Beaulieux <michele@workinmotion.net>

We do hope you attend the Rising From Ashes: Furniture From Lost Trees exhibition and help spread the word about it. http://mortonarb.org/main.taf?p=1,3,39

----------

Check out today's article in the Naperville Sun:
Turning tables on beetle-infested wood Exhibit shows how furniture is made from trees felled by emerald ash borer
August 21, 2008
By KATHY CICHON

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/
1117311,6_1_NA21_EMERALD_S1.article

----------

From: Barry Newstat < barry@barrynewstatfurniture.com >
Date: August 21, 2008 8:52:44 AM CDT
To: John Kriegshauser < kriegshauser@iit.edu >and show participants
Subject: Rising from Ashes press

I sent images to a few of my clients yesterday, here's a result. A little self-promoting, I'll admit....but a bit of good show info too. I'll also admit most of you don't know me but I spent a few hours helping to set up the show yesterday, all of your work looks terrific. To all of you who put in so much time, thanks letting me tag along. http://chicagohomemag.com/Chicago-Home/Design-Dose/

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

CFDA Meeting Report:

CFDA Meeting Minutes - August 12, 2008

The meeting began at 7:10PM with introductions all around for two new members.There were18 members in attendance.

Chris began by talking about the Deceptive show, coming up in October. They received twenty-three additional submissions after the Call For Entries was opened the second time. The results of the jury process will be announced as soon as they reconvene and make their selections.

The Executive Board positions are open for election, and the offices of President, Vice President and Treasurer will need to be filled. The CFDA's process, per the by-laws, has a Board election held by the membership. Then the Board elects the officers.

If you have any interest or motivation towards serving on the Board, or serving as an Officer please step up and let your intentions be known.

The business meeting concluded at 7:20.

Program:

Rising From Ashes: Furniture From Lost Trees

The Morton Arboretum held the kickoff reception on Friday, August 22nd, and the show formally opened on Saturday, August 23rd. Pieces and pedestals were delivered earlier in the week and everything came together beautifully. There was plenty of room for arranging the pieces and still have room to comfortably stroll through the exhibit.

The forty page brochure looks beautiful, with a big tip of the hat to Phil Haywood for a job well done on it. It was reported that weekend demonstrators and show docent commitments were filled.

Guest Doug Rappe, of the Greater West Town Training Partnership, brought along a surprise. His training/adult education organization fabricated several identical knock-down children's rocking chairs for donation to the CFDA. These rockers are intended to be raffled off, one at each of our venues, and 100% of the revenue from the auctions will go to the CFDA to offset the costs of the show. This is a very generous gesture and loud applause and thanks went out to Doug and his group.

Tear down duties will need to be completed on Monday, September 8th to dismantle the show from the Arboretum and to load the furniture and pedestals into a truck. Volunteers are sorely needed all day on the 8th to ensure a save tear down and transportation experience. If you are available during the regular business day on Monday the 8th please plan on being at the Arboretum to help.

The local press has been quite active covering this show - far more than we're generally used to. Our heartfelt thanks go out to the Morton Arboretum and their staff for making the connections to the television and print media services. To date we have been covered on ABC-7's afternoon and evening news programs, a spot on CNBC to be aired at a time yet to be announced, as well as a raft of newspaper coverage. The Tribune, Sun-Times and Naperville Sun have all run excellent reports (with show photos!) on the show and its message.

But this is just the beginning of the process. We still have a lot of show left, and money donations are still very much encouraged. Our moving expenses will mount as we progress through the various venues, as well as other incidental costs. If anyone has any business partners who they can solicit, please don't be shy. You'll be helping all of us, not least of all yourselves, by getting out there and getting monetary commitments.

For the rest of the program we examined photographs of the pieces in the show and listened to descriptions of them from each maker. The show docents will be asked about the pieces and this was an opportunity to explore each piece in turn. We generally critiqued each other's work, discussing the hits and possible near-misses from each of our points of view. And through the evening we gained an appreciation for the creativity and craftsmanship of our fellow members.

The program concluded at 9:10PM.

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

Member Profile:
Dwayne Sperber

I've been quietly building solid wood furniture for more than 10 years...enjoying the solitude a one-man shop offers. It's one of the places I'm happiest...when the floor is covered with shavings from flattening a wide board by hand.

Although I've studied under renowned furniture makers at the Maine-based Center for Furniture Craftsmanship, ultimately it has been my own pursuit to learn and honor the craft of hand made furniture... education never ceases.

Creating furniture with a respect for nature... a practice most important to me...using wood salvaged from the rural and urban landscape. A union of nature and culture, my furniture is simple, yet refined. Functional... tangible. Occasionally, the wood takes my design to where it wants to go. I'm never truly in control anyway... we just come to terms.

I joined the CFDA when the exhibition "Rising from Ashes: Furniture From Lost Trees" was merely a good idea. Only after great preparation, effort, and passion did the idea survive...not unlike the road from salvaged tree to beautiful furniture. Funny how that works...the right thing to do isn't always easy. Since leaving the corporate world in 1995, I am a full-time commission furniture maker, stay-at-home father, and, it seems, cook.

I reside with my wife and two children in Delafield, Wisconsin.