ClearLake Furniture Blog

March 4, 2010

Too many trophies, too little space

Filed under: Community happenings, Latest from the workshop, The New ClearLake Blog! — Tags: Black River High School, championships, ClearLake Furniture, hand-craft, Ludlow, trophy case, Vermont, Vermont State Champions — admin @ 6:23 pm

Black River High School here in Ludlow, Vermont, has a winning tradition, as evidenced by the trophies in their lobby. Year after year, the championships piled up, and so were the trophies in the cases.

Then the Class of 2009 decided to donate a trophy case so the awards could be displayed without so much crowding. The problem was, they needed a size that would fit in the critical space between two doors AND match the existing cabinets. The response from manufacturers was not what they hoped. Basically, off the rack was out of the question.

When we heard about the dilemma here at ClearLake Furniture, we decided to support the home team and hand-craft a trophy case that would meet their needs. We built it to fit perfectly in the space allowed, matched the red oak, and even used safety glass in place of plexi, which scratches too easily.

I’m proud to say this cabinet was delivered and installed yesterday. Now, the latest BRHS trophy—Vermont State Champions, Boy Varsity Soccer, Division IV—can join their championship awards for this title for the previous two years, along with the three consecutive titles for the Girls Varsity Soccer, the three consecutive state titles for Varsity Softball, and the state titles for Snowboard and Varsity Baseball. Go, Pirates!

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February 16, 2010

From farmer to legend.

Filed under: Community happenings — Tags: Fullam and Sons, Leighton G. Fullam, rocking chairs, Vermont — admin @ 6:13 pm

Back in 1881, Leighton G. Fullam, a Vermont farmer became interested in the lumber industry. He bought a large tract of land in Plymouth, now famous as the birthplace of Calvin Coolidge, 30^th President of the United States.

Fullam started up a sawmill on the property to make lumber from the trees he harvested there. In 1889, Fullam went from making lumber to making furniture from his lumber. He and his son, Herman, set up in a blacksmith shop near their home in Ludlow, not far from the sawmill. By 1892, the demand for Fullam & Sons rocking chairs pushed them to increase production and their facility. Seven years later, Fullam had a staff of 30 craftsmen who turned out 150-200 rocking chairs a day—an impressive number even by today’s standards, but even more so when you consider that these woodworkers did not have sophisticated machinery to help them meet their goals.

A craftsman, businessman, farmer, and visionary, Fullam was a unique combination of Yankee ingenuity and entrepreneurship. He identified opportunities and worked his way through challenges. He managed to start a business, make it grow, and find markets around the country when both advertising and shipping were quite a challenge.

I’m heading down to my workshop now to build a rocking chair for one of my customers. And I will channel the spirit of fellow Vermont furniture maker Leighton G. Fullam every step of the way.

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February 13, 2010

Evolution of an idea.

Filed under: Community happenings, Latest from the workshop — Tags: Black River Academy Museum, ClearLake Furniture, exhibit, Fullam rocker, L.G. Fullam, rocking chairs — admin @ 11:54 am

Sometimes an idea hits you like a splash of cold water. Other times, it has to percolate a bit. I think the idea to celebrate the heritage of a 19^th century Vermont furniture maker by recreating its classic rocking chair was somewhere in the middle of that scale.

I was speaking with Georgia Brehm, Director of the Black River Academy Museum here in Ludlow about a month ago. She was coordinating an upcoming exhibit to celebrate L.G. Fullam & Sons, a company that thrived in this region over 100 years ago, around the turn of the 20^th century. This company, which had very humble beginnings, grew from a father-and-son operation in an old blacksmith shop to a 30-person manufacturing company that turned out 150 to 200 chairs per day—and that was before the invention of many of the power tools we use today.

The Black River Academy Museum celebrates the heritage of the Okemo Valley region. In addition to exhibits, the museum presents classes to teach timeless crafts like basketry and chair caning. The Fullam exhibit, entitled “What the Rocker Knows” will treat visitors to the artistry of Leighton G. Fullam’s sought-after rocking chairs, which fetched a fairly high price at the time and were shipped all around the country.

We were trying to determine how to do more than just display chairs. Then, a thought started to rise somewhere in my brain. It reached my mouth before I gave it much consideration: “We can invite people to build their own recreation of a Fullam rocker in my shop,” I announced.

Georgia was excited. As for me, the idea of letting others craft furniture in my workshop had hovered in my mind many times, but there was never enough incentive to act on it. Because I respect the simple artistry and craftsmanship of the Fullam rocking chair, I had a sufficient nudge.

As soon as I sort out the details, I’ll let you know more about this weekend workshop at ClearLake Furniture!

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August 13, 2009

The story of the “All Come Home” table.

Filed under: Community happenings, Latest from the workshop — Tags: all come home, ClearLake Furniture, FSC-certified, Okemo, Okemo Community Challenge Ski Ball, Okemo Mountain Resort, one-of-a-kind table, Vermont maple, wood inlays — admin @ 10:16 pm

The one-of-a-kind "All Come Home" table

Every year, we at ClearLake Furniture support the public schools in our area by donating to the live auction for the Okemo Community Challenge Ski Ball, This black-tie event is one of the biggest fundraisers each year. In the past, we’ve contributed gift certificates. Auction guests “won” $500 gift certificates for a little less than the face value and the Challenge raised much-needed money. All were happy.

I decided to do something more interesting this year. I designed and crafted a one-of-a-kind console table with two drawers. The top was made of Vermont maple with a cherry base and legs. But this is a unique table for a different reason. I added a cherry inlay on the maple table top with the words “all come home”, which is the English translation of the Indian word “Okemo”

I’ve done many wood inlays in my career as a furniture crafter but this one was by far the most challenging. Getting the curves right and fitting them tightly into the table top took many hours, I enlisted the help of the sign shop at nearby Okemo Mountain Resort with their laser-cutting tools, which was a definite help.

The “all come home” table has a few other features that make it distinctive. For the top, I chose tapped maple because it had some beautiful streaks that resulted from moisture seeping in around the tap holes. This particular maple was “rescued” from being firewood, having been felled at a construction site in northern Vermont The cherry for the base and legs was FSC-certified wood.

I also built in a secret drawer, which is a common feature in antique tables. This practice dates back to the days when people didn’t trust banks to store their precious treasures and papers. It seemed like a good add-on for this table, given the current state of our financial system.

In all, I invested more than 50 hours of my time working on this one piece. It was a labor of love because I, too, support our schools and recognize that they need more than their meager budgets can provide. The table, which would retail for $3,500 (if I even had the energy to do this again) sold for $2,550 at the auction.

I feel great that this year I donated more than gift certificates. I contributed my time, creative energy, and the skills that I have invested a lifetime in building. Giving doesn’t need to require writing a check. Time is precious. Give it wisely!

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