Now updated with dates at other locations, here is the complete up-to-date schedule:

• Feb. 17-18  Painting with Wood Class is full
• Mar 2-3  Double Bevel II Class is full
• Mar 9-10 Geometric Marquetry I @ The Fredericksburg Workshop
• Mar 16-17  Geometric Marquetry
• Mar 23-24  VFM I
• Mar. 30-31  Double Bevel I
• May 4-5 Painting with Wood new date
• May 18-19  Geometric I
• May 24-25 Painting with Wood @ The Fredericksburg Workshop
• June 8-9  VFM II now a two-day class
• June 15-16 VFM I @ Sam Beauford
• June 17-21 – Complete Intro Course @ Sam Beauford
• Sept 7-8 Double Bevel I
• Sept. 13-14 @ Wood & Shop
• Sept 28-29 Painting with Wood new date
• Oct 19-20 Double Bevel II new date
• Oct 26-27 Geometric Marquetry II new date

New Class Location: The Fredericksburg Workshop

I am pleased to announce that I will be teaching both the Geometric Marquetry class and the Painting with Wood class in March and May of next year, at their facility. I hope to meet some new folks there and maybe some of you, if that location or class timing is more convenient. To sign up for those classes, you’ll need to email the workshop: info@fredworkshop.com

Wood and Shop

I will also be returning to teach at the Wood and Shop in Earlysville next year. I will be running Veneering for Furnituremakers I on Friday and Saturday, Sept 13-14. Click here to signup.

Great Places with Great Furniture: Charleston, South Carolina

The next installment of our Decorative Arts Collections worth a visit takes us to the South.

Excellent photographs can tell you a lot about a fine piece of furniture, sometimes enough to make it from. However, to really get the feel of a piece, see it in person. My wonderful and patient wife understands this, so when we travel, there is often a stop or six to look at particular pieces, or just absorb the vibes. Often, these places are Decorative Arts Museums, but not today. 

Eighteenth century Charleston was very wealthy from rice, sugar and other products grown further inland by the large enslaved population. The finest furniture makers moved there from the old world to cater to these wealthy planters. Unusually, there were German as well as British makers, and the synergy from their different approaches created exquisite furniture. This is my favorite “American” furniture.

The finest furniture in Charleston is spread among several Historic Homes below Broad St, the original wealthy portion of town. The houses are small by museum standards, so the furniture is closer than in many American museums, and the pieces are displayed in era-appropriate rooms with smaller pieces that are often just as elegant and refined as the major pieces. 

The Charleston Museum has information on the great houses of the area. Oddly, the site isn’t all about furniture, but there is no accounting for taste. Much of the glorious furniture is veneered, with beautiful inlays. I will highlight of couple of my favorite pieces and images. Charleston is off the beaten path, being at the end of a peninsula, but it’s well worth the time. The furniture is wonderful. There are more houses and photos here.

The must-visit house is the Heyward-Washington House, which has the magnificent bookcase below.

I must admit that I didn’t note which pieces of furniture were in which houses. I take these pictures as inspiration later, and I hope to make a Charleston-inspired piece eventually. All of the stately houses had some fine work, and the main museum in town also had some. 

The standard reference book for this is “The Furniture of Charleston, 1680-1820 (The Frank L Horton Series)”, by Rauschenberg and Bivins, ISBN 10: 0945578059 . This three volume set from 2003 is available though used bookstores.