Upcoming Events

The SAPFM Mid-Year Conference is scheduled to take place from Friday, 10 October to Monday, 13 October 2025. The schedule includes optional programming on Friday and Monday.  The main events will commence on Friday evening with the SAPFM Cartouche Award Banquet, followed by a comprehensive conference weekend.  All of the main events will be held in the Williamsburg Lodge.

In addition to the opportunity to connect with both longtime and new acquaintances in a distinctive setting where history remains vibrant, this year’s Mid-Year Conference features several noteworthy presentations that are highly recommended for attendance. This event promises to be an engaging and informative experience!

(Optional) FRIDAY TOURS

Friday features a unique opportunity for small groups of 12, to visit a nearby 18th century James River Plantation filled with amazing museum quality American furniture. These tours will be conducted by Ralph Harvard and retired Chipstone American Furniture editor Luke Bekerdite.

Additionally, The Colonial Williamsburg staff has put together a behind the scenes look at the Anthony Hay Cabinetmakers' Shop and the Booker Tenement with Bill Pavlak and Brian Weldy along with an up close examination of wooden artifacts, upholstery conservation and specific furniture pieces from the storage labs with Tara Chicirda, Chris Swan and Sarah Towers.

Later in the day we will have a private tour of the Geddy Foundry featuring casting, engraving, and silversmith work, with an emphasis on 18th century furniture hardware.

The Monday Plantation tour will include a boxed lunch in the price. Transportation is on your own or carpool

SAPFM CARTOUCHE AWARD BANQUET (Friday Evening)

Included in the main program, Friday evening's banquet for SAPFM's Cartouche Award will recognize this year's honoree, Bess Naylor. Ms. Naylor will deliver a brief presentation regarding her work.

SATURDAY ROTATION PRESENTATIONS

As in previous years, the comprehensive Saturday schedule will enable participants to attend three 90-minute sessions, each focused on a specific area of interest. These “rotations” consist of small group sessions that facilitate close interaction with the presenters and ample time for questions. 

Mike Mascelli: “Period Upholstery for Modern Makers” This presentation will cover the history of the upholstery trade in England and its migration to the Colonies. It will demonstrate the English style of hand-sewn and hand-tacked upholstery using traditional materials such as linen webbing, coir fiber, and curled horsehair. Various hand stitching techniques, including blind edge stitching and bridle stitching, will be shown through photos and live demonstrations. Additionally, there will be a discussion and demonstration on integrating modern upholstery materials like pre-sewn edge roll, rubberized horsehair, and Dacron to replicate period upholstery treatments in contemporary reproductions.

Jason Bennett: “Advanced Topics in Tall Case Clock Construction” Building a Tall Case Clock can sure seem like daunting task, so where does one begin? In this session Jason will break down the process into a simple and workable approach beginning with the choice of the dial and clockwork movement. The size and shape of these two elements will be the basis for determining how the many intricate parts relate to each other both stylistically and in terms of joinery. He will explain that there are actually three cases which comprise the complete clock: the base, the waist and the hood, and each of these components have structurally sound joinery for the working parts and also support the many decorative elements for which these clocks are famous, including gooseneck pediments, fluted quarter columns, finials and rosettes. Spread out on the bench these parts might look like a complex jigsaw puzzle, but with some guidance and planning the project can be both and approachable and enjoyable project to undertake.

Ray Journigan: "The Walker & Acme of Perfection Tea Table Fusion Project: Going Further Than a Reproduction" Making period reproductions is more than just choosing an object in a museum and copying it line for line. More importantly it is about learning and
copying the processes that were used. What were the design influences? What were the techniques used and how were patterns created? Realizing that all these things were based on the available tools, the available lighting and access to materials all played a huge role in how these masterpieces were conceived and executed. Contemporary furniture makers frequently reproduce period furniture without giving a lot of thought to the all-important design phase. Utilizing many of his own examples in his presentation, Ray will encourage today’s craftspeople to develop and exercise their design skills to create “New Reproductions”. Guided by the philosophy that successful furniture reproductions come from reproducing the entire 18th century cabinetmaker’s process rather than just blindly duplicating the furniture piece we can create furniture that did not exist during that time, but if placed in a room full of period pieces, it would fit right in!

To complement the rotations, Bob Van Dyke will deliver a brief session on the history, usage, and construction of the classic ladies’ work table:

Bob Van Dyke: “Ladies work tables: Useful furniture form or just conspicuous consumption?” Bob Van Dyke, Director of the Connecticut Valley School of Woodworking and Contributing Editor for Fine Woodworking Magazine, has been hooked on Ladies Work Tables for years even though this furniture form is usually considered to be the epitome of conspicuous consumption! The Federal style Ladies work table- frequently called sewing tables, traditionally featured extensive veneer work, complicated bandings and was frequently dressed up with intricate paterae. Whatever way you could subtly show off how rich and successful you were- that was the idea. Later styles featured intricate carvings, tambour slides and elegant silk bags to hold the unfinished embroidery work. In his presentation Bob will outline the history of this furniture form, where they came from, who made them and what they were actually used for (not just sewing!) He will also show examples of how the construction techniques used in these tables varied all over the lot-especially the octagon and oval shaped tables which was often surprisingly simple (even the John & Thomas Seymour tables in Boston) and discuss both the simple and complicated forms.

In an effort to keep the cost of the mid-year conference down, dinner Saturday night will be on your own but we have arranged an informal dinner buffet at the nearby Old City BBQ which you can sign up for when signing up for the conference on line.

SUNDAY SESSIONS
We will begin the day with a presentation by this year’s Cartouche award recipient, Bess Naylor. Bess will speak on Pennsylvania Furniture and Line and Berry Decoration. The rest of Sunday includes:

Don Williams: "Making New Finishes Look Old(er)" Don Williams retired furniture conservator of the Smithsonian, and conservator in private practice, has had many years of presenting various topics in the area of historic finishing to a wide array of SAPFM groups.  Some of these include the history, making and use of shellac, and the importance of beeswax as both a pore filler and a final finish, and the different methods of work among the French (ala Roubo) and the English and craftsmen who were the greatest influence on our American furniture.  In this session, Don will address a topic often overlooked, which is how to attain the goal of making new pieces look "old but well-cared for;. He will demonstrate a number of techniques to manipulate the color, surface texture and "patina" of a finish and also discuss some the important material science aspects which cause both intended and unintended results.  Don will be able to not only show how to achieve the desired look, but also explain the physics, chemistry and optics of how it works.

Participants will also be able to choose to view one of the following:

• Tad Fallon: “Everything You Wanted to Know About Gilding (in 90 minutes!)” An expert in the field of object and furniture conservation, Tad will bring his many years of experience in gilding to a session which will be packed full of information not easily found in other sources. This demonstration will focus on the materials, tools and techniques for traditional water gilding on frames, furniture, and architectural elements. Oil gilding techniques will also be reviewed. Topics will include the preparation and use of rabbit skin glue, gesso, bole, gilding liquor, gold leaf, Dutch metal, and toners. Toning and aging techniques will be demonstrated. If time permits, restoration techniques and conservation of gilded surfaces will be discussed and demonstrated. A materials list and supplier contacts will be provided in the handouts. The world of metal leaf work is fascinating, and can add a whole new dimension to your own work!
• Curtis Buchanan: "The Democratic Chair: Making a Chair With the Least Amount of Tools" At some point, all furniture makers approach the challenge of making a functional and stylish chair. Curtis is a well know chair maker and historian and has a special interest in this special chair form. In this afternoon session he will relate how the design and philosophy for the democratic chair grew out of appropriate indigenous technology in rain forest communities in Honduras and a response to the marketing of fancy “ebony and brass” single task tools. By contrast, Curtis will demonstrate how using a limited number of “gross” tools, can actually build your skill and efficiency level to the point where you are proficient enough to be able to really enjoy doing work quickly and well. Curtis will round out his presentation by demonstrating how the humble drawknife can quickly rough out and provide finished surfaces with the same cuts.

(Optional) MONDAY TOURS

Monday’s optional tour is an up close look at two local historic sites: Historic Shirley and the Berkely Plantation.  Historic Shirley (pictured at right) is a privately-owned family home and working farm, and is not generally open to the public. Its "Great House" was completed in 1738 and is largely in its original state, constructed in the Georgian style with red brick walls and white trim boards on a square foundation, and both the riverside and courtyard side entrances have a two-story portico with Doric columns supporting a pediment. The house's famous carved walnut "floating" or "flying" cantilevered staircase rises for three stories without visible means of support and is the only one of its kind in America.  Berkely Plantation's 1726 Georgian mansion (pictured at the top of this post) is the birthplace of Benjamin Harrison V, signer of the Declaration of Independence and three times governor of Virginia. The estate is also the birthplace of William Henry Harrison, ninth president of the United States, and ancestral home of his grandson, Benjamin Harrison, the twenty-third president. The manion is furnished with a rare collection of eighteenth-century antiques, Chinese porcelain, and English silver, whereas the original kitchen dependency and reconstructed slave quarters tell the story of the enslaved workers that lived and worked at Berkeley.

PRICES

This conference is organized by and for SAPFM members. To register for this conference, a non-member will first need to establish a SAPFM membership.

Registration is not yet open, but will begin soon!

1.  An exhibition of SAPFM furniture,
2. Demonstrations of period woodworking techniques,
3. Assisting DIA docents with tours of their period furniture collection, and
4. Making kits for youth to assemble in the museum's art studios. 

Our Chapter is smaller than it was 15 years ago, so we would like to open participation to all SAPFM members. If any member is interested in taking part in this event, please contact Dennis Heyza or Jim Crammond (find their email addresses in the Member Directory).  They could use help in any of the 4 activities listed above.