I first met Sam at a workshop at Anderson Ranch in 2001. I was impressed with his eagerness to share his techniques. I was most impressed with using the bandsaw as a sculpting tool. He said this is not safe and don’t do this at home, but here is how I do it. And so when I got home I did too.

The result is my Unfolded Chair. I created my design sketches for this chair while I was at Anderson Ranch that year, but didn’t get around to building it until 2003. I entered it in the Texas Furniture Maker’s Show in Kerrville that year where it won the President’s Award. Jim Derby, the president of the Kerrville show, told me he gave the award because every time he saw the chair, there was someone sitting in it. That is the Maloof influence—innovative and inviting. 

In Sam’s presentation’s he was squatting down on the floor, holding chair parts between his knees as he sculpted them with a rasp. What in inspiring sight. The man was 85 years old and in better shape than most men in their mid 50s like me. I was lucky enough to have lunch with Sam that weekend. I shared my portfolio with him. His comment was “Gee, Petersen, You don’t do any one style—you do them all.”  Before we parted ways, he gave me his business card and an invitation to stop in for a visit if I was ever in California. Unfortunately, I never made it to California.

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