In Memory of Philip C. Lowe

The woodworking world has lost an Icon … Philip C Lowe.

Phil has been sharing his woodworking talent for decades and has authored many articles in the annual SAPFM Journal and Fine Woodworking Magazine. From his early days at North Bennet Street to his own Furniture Institute of Massachusetts, Phil was a consummate professional that strived to encourage students to challenge their skills and achieve fulfillment within the woodworking community.

Phil was involved in SAPFM as a visiting instructor, seminar speaker and demonstrator. His presentations were always a big hit of SAPFM midyear conferences, and he graciously hosted a Midyear program in his own shop.

As a conservator for the Peabody Essex museum, Phil was able to give our members exclusive tours of the museum furniture collection.

In 2005, Phil received the Cartouche Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Society of American Period Furniture Makers.

Always the gentleman, with a great sense of humor Phil was an absolute pleasure to be around.

Thanks Phil… for all that you have done for SAPFM and the entire woodworking community. Rest assured that we will do our best to carry on the woodworking skills that you spent your life perfecting. 

The SAPFM Board and members send our thoughts and prayers to Phil’s family.

Colonial Williamsburg's 2021 Working Wood in the 18th Century Conference - UPDATES

Colonial Williamsburg's Working Wood in the 18th Century conference has been postponed one week, until January 21-24. The organizers have provided the following update (1/15/2021) on the conference:

Working Wood in the 18^th Century Registrants:

We understand that, while communication has been forthcoming about the conference and some of the unexpected and necessary changes, there are some of you who may not have received these communications as they have gone from one email server to the next, and wish to help ensure you have received the information. Below is some important information that was sent out over the last 7 days. If you have not received these communications, please reach out to [email protected] and make sure to include your first & last name, the email address with which you are registered, a phone number where you can be reached if need be, and which emails seem not to have reached you. If you have been able to successfully log in to the app/streaming platform, there is no further action needed, as you are obviously receiving the communications and are set up for success when the conference begins next week!

 Logging into the App/Streaming Platform

Two communications were sent for this on Wednesday, January 13:

1. Download the Mobile App for Back to Work - This is for smart devices such as a tablet or an iphone
2. Log in to the Online Event Guide for Back to Work - This is for those who wish to stream from their desktop/laptop or personal computer

You can do either or both! But you will need to use the corresponding links depending on which device you are trying to use in order to log in. There are videos included in both emails with short tutorials on logging in.

If you did not receive these emails, please make sure to check your spam/junk/other folders and contact us at [email protected] if you are unable to find them, and we will be happy to assist. 

App/Streaming Platform Launch

In order to allow us to reconfigure a few things, this will also delay the launch of the streaming platform by a few days, but please be on the look out for that email communication by January 14, which will still give you plenty of time to familiarize yourself before we begin streaming content on January 21.

As always, we thank you in advance for your understanding, patience, and continued dedication and support of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, this conference, and the woodworking trades.

Should you have any questions, please reach out to us at [email protected]

2020 Board of Directors Election Results

The 2020 SAPFM Board of Directors election results are in! 

The Nominating Committee, chaired by Jim Crammond, submitted an outstanding list of candidates to serve on the Board.  The Board of Directors wishes to express its appreciation to all candidates. Their willingness to contribute their time and energy to the Society is crucial to fulfilling its mission of providing member resources, publications, and events of high value to all members. 

In closing and on behalf of the SAPFM Board, we extend our renewed and sincere thanks to the outgoing Board members. Charlie Driggs and Greg Pilotti have contributed their valuable time and energy to help SAPFM grow as an organization.  Their efforts and dedication to help SAPFM succeed for the past several years is, and will always be, valued and appreciated.

Thanks,
Dave Redlin

David Lamb Recipient of 2021 Cartouche Award

The SAPFM Cartouche Award Committee is pleased to announce the selection of David Lamb as the recipient of the 2021 SAPFM Cartouche Award. The Cartouche award recognizes an individual whose achievements best reflect the mission of SAPFM as reflected in the lifetime achievement of the recipient.

Traditionally, the award would be presented at the annual Cartouche Banquet held in conjunction with the Colonial Williamsburg Working Wood in the 18th Century conference in January. This year, because of the COVID virus, we cannot yet announce details of the award presentation (several alternatives are under active discussion) but we will update the membership and general public as soon as possible.

David Lamb’s career started in Canterbury, NH almost 50 years ago when his family moved to Canterbury Shaker Village to run the Shaker museum there. Living within the historical setting and having a personal friendship with the six remaining Shakers gave him a unique insight into that segment of American folklife and the Shaker artistic and architectural output. Within a year of moving to Canterbury David was invited to be an apprentice with next door neighbor, Alejandro de la Cruz, an accomplished and traditionally trained cabinetmaker from Madrid.

The classic training David received over the three year period was thorough and focused on benchwork and all hand techniques and long discussions on design, proportion, aesthetics and the business of being a craftsman. Heavy emphasis on traditional American and European technique and form predominated the shop’s output.

Contemporary art school was next at Boston University’s Program in Artistry with Jere Osgood and Alphonse Mattia as teachers for his degree in Applied Arts. Thinking in non-traditional ways of creating form and aesthetic ideas was instrumental here.

It is these three aspects that drives David’s design and work; classical form and integrity, Shaker directness and function and contemporary rethinking of graphic aesthetic and methods to accomplish them. In addition to these exposures, nature has played a huge part in what motivates David’s design, both in form and detail by constantly drawing flowers and plants, carving them and incorporating these and other natural aspects in his work.

During his career he has been a 40 year juried member of the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen and has served as juror for over a decade. He is a founding member of the Guild of NH Woodworkers and regular contributor to their highly acclaimed Journal and is a founding member of The New Hampshire Furniture Masters Association where he has served as chairman for three terms. He was appointed New Hampshire Artist Laureate by Gov. John Lynch for two terms from 2010-2014. David also was a participant presenting traditional furniture making at The Smithsonian Folklife Festival representing NH in 1999 in Washington, DC.

Throughout his career as a full time furniture maker he has had innumerable furniture making opportunities building the highest level of historical work and just as important, pieces that rethink what tradition could mean. Collaborations with other artists and craftsmen play a big part in David’s work but also the insightful feedback and exceptional contributions from his wife, Janet.

SCOTT SEVERNS - New SAPFM Vice President / President Elect

 On behalf of the Board, we would like to welcome Scott Severns as the new SAPFM Vice President/President Elect. Scott will take on the role as Vice President for 2020 and on to President starting in 2021.  A Delaware Valley Chapter Member, Scott's long term business experience and energy will be a great asset to the Board. Scott has owned/operated Oak Mountain Custom Woodwork for the past 15 years.  

 SAPFM Board of Directors

2019 Midyear Conference

SAPFM's mid year conference just concluded on July 29.The Greenville Woodworkers Guild in Greenville SC was our host for the conference attended by more than 90 SAPFM and Guild members.

The conference included special presentations by Dr Daniel Ackerman from MESDA and Chris Swartz from Lost Art Press. There were demonstrations by Elia Bizzari,  Bob Van Dyke, Bob Stevenson, Michael Mascelli, Brian Weldy, and Ray Journigan on a variety of topics include carving, upholstery, Windsor chairs, wooden planes and inlays to name just a few. There were also bus trips to nearby historical sites on Friday and Monday.

Some pictures from the event are shown below. Look forward to a complete story in the next Pins & Tales detailing all the events during the busy 4 day event.

Dr. and Mrs. Thomas H. Sears, Jr. Honored by MESDA

Tom Sears has been an active member of SAPFM, serving on the mid-year committee and the board of directors for 9 years.

He has been instrumental in SAPFM efforts to connect and develop relationships with the museum works.  He was responsible for our two mid-years at MESDA and Olde Salem in 2012 and 2017.  Sara has served as hostess at both the MESDA events as well as being present at other mid-year events.  They are both great supports of SAPFM.

Both Tom and Sara will be honored for their contributions and efforts for MESDA and Olde Salem at a virtual presentation July 31.

You can learn more about this event at https://www.oldsalem.org/historicsummer/#CARES-Act-Tax-Benefits

Quoting from the Olde Salem web site:

“All donors to the campaign will receive an invitation to join us for the Frederic William Marshall Award virtual ceremony on Friday, July 31st. This year, we are pleased to present the award to three dedicated individuals: … Tom and Sara Sears have been (almost!) as committed to historic preservation and collecting as they are to each other. From Tom's accomplishments as a woodworker to their reconstruction of the 1819 John Vogler house to their years of targeted collecting, the Sears's generosity, spirit, and dedication is inspiring and undeniable."

Planning for 2021 Mid Year Underway!!

You might call this 2020 Mid year 2.0 as we again plan to be at the University of Mary Washington and partnering with their Center for Historic Preservation. The dates will be 25-28 June 2021. We're putting together a great line up of speakers and presenters and are happy to say most of the ones who signed up for this year are looking forward to joining us next year. Keep your fingers crossed, mark your calendars and we'll look forward to a successful mid year. 

Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts MESDA Journal Provides Informative Articles on American Period Furniture

The MESDA Journal(www.mesdajournal.org) has published groundbreaking research on early southern decorative arts and material culture since 1975. Articles in the MESDA Journal are available free of charge through its website, as are digital versions of past issues published over the last forty-three years. 

A recent issue discusses “Friendly Furniture in the Early South,” a reference to The Religious Society of Friends, better known as the Quakers. The Quakers had a notable but sometimes overlooked influence on the settlement and material landscape of the early American South. The furniture making traditions of two Quaker communities in the South—one in the northern Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and the other in Piedmont North Carolina—are explored and contextualized in significant new articles published in the Journal.

Quaker cabinetmaking families that made furniture over a ninety-year span in the Winchester region of Virginia are revealed in an article by A. Nicholas Powers, curator at the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley. Quaker settlement of the area began in the 1730s and a third of the woodworkers documented as working in Winchester and Frederick County before the American Revolution can be identified as members of the Society of Friends. From the Scots-born joiner Alexander Ross working in the first half of the 18th century to the Fawcett family of furniture makers working into the 19th century, Quaker woodworkers were formative settlers and residents of the northern Shenandoah Valley.

A network of ideas and trade that spanned the length of the Great Wagon Road connected the Virginia Quakers with Friends from Philadelphia south to Piedmont North Carolina, where Robert Leath, MESDA’s Chief Curator and VP of Collections & Research, thoughtfully explains the stylistic influences of three separate migration patterns in Guildford County, North Carolina. Leath establishes in his article that Quaker cabinetmakers in Guilford County produced decorative furniture between 1775 and 1825 that reflected their ethnic origins and professional training but also created a regional identity that trumped religious faith. A recently discovered shop ledger book and adept genealogical research skills allow Leath to reconsider long established attributions of surviving furniture and better identify the cabinetmakers working within Piedmont North Carolina’s Quaker communities. Thomas Pierce, a Pennsylvania-born craftsman who migrated in the 1770s, and his apprentice David Osborne have been revealed as the earliest Quaker cabinetmakers in the region and work previously assigned to Jesse Needham has been re-attributed to Henry Macy, who was born on Nantucket Island and moved to Piedmont North Carolina with his family in the 1780s.

Support SAPFM via Amazon Smile

Shop and Give!

AmazonSmile offers a new way to contribute to SAPFM.

 AmazonSmile is a website operated by Amazon with the same products, prices, and shopping features as Amazon.com. The difference is that when you shop on AmazonSmile, the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible products to the charitable organization of your choice. It is easy to choose SAPFM to receive these donations from Amazon. These donations do not increase the cost of purchased items.

On either a desktop or mobile device simply go to www.smile.amazon.com and log in using your normal Amazon username and password. You will be asked to select your charity.  Simply search for “SAPFM” and select. After the selection your shopping page will be exactly as you normally experience.  Just be sure to log into smile.amazon.com rather than amazon.com. You can easily bookmark the smile.amazon site in your browser and shop from there.

If you prefer to shop from your mobile device you cannot use Amazon Smile with the Amazon App. However you can set up a shortcut to the Amazon Smile website which gives a near identical experience to the app. It’s very quick and easy to do. For an iPhone or iPad do the following (there would be an equivalent method for an Android device):

• Open Safari and type smile.amazon.com in the web address field. AmazonSmile will open.
• Touch the share button (looks like a box with an arrow).
• Touch Add to Home Screen.
• Touch Add.

Regardless of your platform, every time you make an Amazon purchase, Amazon will be contributing to SAPFM. With our many members this can add up to a significant contribution to the mission of SAPFM! We encourage all to take these simple steps to contribute to the future success of SAPFM.

Grinling Gibbons Tour Hosted by Mary May - Rescheduled to September 20 - 30, 2021

Have you ever seen woodcarvings where you wonder "How can this be carved by human hand"?

Mary May, who has been teaching woodcarving classes for the past 15 years, will be hosting a tour of the fabulous 17th century English woodcarver, Grinling Gibbons. His deeply ornate carvings often appear to defy gravity.

Originally scheduled for early May 2020, this tour has been rescheduled for September 20 - 30, 2021. Happily, there is an advantage to visiting London in 2021 ... it is the tercentenary (300th anniversary) of his death. Special celebrations and exhibits will be happening throughout London during this time.

The tour will focus on visiting churches, grand homes, palaces, and museums where his magnificent carvings are displayed such as St. Paul's Cathedral, Hampton Court Palace, and the Victoria and Albert Museum around London, England. The tour will also venture outside of London to Oxford and the Petworth House to view more of the amazing Gibbons work. There will be a few free days to explore on your own but most days will have guided tours focusing on learning, discovering and admiring his historic carvings.

Come join the fun and be inspired! More details here. Contact Mary May at [email protected] for more information.

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