I received this email today from Blake. He is offering chair making classes in Waco there are two in June but he plans to do more later. I am not associated with the class, but have signed up for a spot.
I thought people might be interested in it. If posts of this kind are not appropriate let me know, and I will delete it
Good morning,
Hope this email finds you well and productive in the midst of a rather chaotic crisis. I have had to postpone my May classes due to the COVID-19 outbreak but I am hoping to reschedule for the middle of June if it works out in all regards.
I am sending out this email to those who have expressed an interest in building their own Windsor chair as I have a number openings in the June classes, two dates available.
I will be teaching with Travis Curtis (@tecurtis13 on instagram) who is a great Chairmaker and all around good/ hilarious guy- also a great story teller so be prepared! He is also an assistant to renowned Chairmaker Greg Pennington.
This will be a six day class Monday-Saturday in which we will be building Curtis Buchananâs âdemocraticâ style Windsor chair (pictured above). Worry not, this is entirely a-political. One definition of democratic: âof or relating to the people- availability for allâ. This chair meets that criteria by being simple in design and the number of tools needed for its execution to appeal to a wider audience, hence the somewhat misleading name âDemocraticâ.
We will start with a green Oak Log, split out the components and shape them right away with a drawknife so they can begin the drying process as we bore and carve the white pine seat.
Plan to have an highly interactive and fun week building a heirloom chair in a relaxed and comfortable environment here in my shop in Waco Tx.
Class cost is $1000 and includes all materials and tools (feel free to bring your own as well) needed to make the chair. $100 will hold your place in the class. Refundable up to 2 weeks before class start date.
I still have openings for the following dates:
More classes to come later in the year as well.
June 15-20
June 22-27
Look forward to seeing you there!
Please feel free to email or call with any questions. There is limited lodging on site and plenty of places to stay close by.
Is he affiliated with Homestead Heritage, or does he have his own school?
I took the 6-day foundation course at HH about 10 years ago, and it was great. Iâve been looking for other classes nearby, but there arenât that many options.
(You ought to post this in the Woodworking forum.)
Noooo⌠unless the moderators move it, most folks will just see it on the main page. Although, this is good enough info that maybe @Team_Moderators will move it over. It will still be useful in, oh, a month, and itâll be more findable for the average scanning person if itâs in its proper forum.
He has his own classes he teaches. I was curious about Heritage school so thanks for the recommendation. I may just leave the post here. I wanted more people to see it and the woodworking category seemed to be limited to dms specific items if I read the description right. If the moderators feel it needs to be moved that would be ok with me.
Good to know! My instructor at HH was Frank Strazza, a brilliant woodworker (Instagram: @strazzafurniture). I took a weekend class in marquetry last spring at the Austin School of Furniture & Design (https://austinschooloffurniture.com/). ASFD is only a couple of years old and it shows a lot of promise. The class was taught by Wayne Delyea (@waynedelyeafurnituremaker), who is now a member of DMS. I worked with him to bring the the same class here last fall.
Finally, in December I took a carved oak box class taught by Peter Follansbee (@peterfollansbee) at the Lost Art Press storefront in Covington, KY. But the problem with classes that far away is getting the project home. I flew out there so in addition to carrying my tools out there and back, I had to arrange to mail my box back. The logistics of doing that on a Friday night with no car in a city I wasnât familiar with was quite a trick. I will definitely drive out next time. Thatâs why I was very interested in your post. Itâs good to hear that we have options closer to home. If you know of others, please let us all know.
Good luck with your class and be sure to post pictures!
I think this falls clearly into the âwoodworking in generalâ portion, and would certainly be welcome in the Woodshop category, if that is your preference.
Thank you for understanding that sometimes things need moved to keep the system working at peak efficiency. Personally, as stated, I am content to let the original poster (OP, you) decide in this case.
Thank you for all the info. I have been looking at both Austin School and Lost Art. I think my next classes will be with Austin School. I am planning to save the Lost Art classes for when I have a little more experience and can get more out of the class because of the larger cost and logistics you refer to in getting there and getting your stuff back.
I agree close to home options are good.
I will post pictures and let you know how the class goes.
