I recently returned from this year’s annual Furniture Society conference in Philadelphia held at The University of the Arts, where I was honored to be a presenter. The conference did not disappoint, the 275 attendees included a great mix of some of the top woodworkers, educators, gallery owners and curators, as well as students and armature woodworkers alike. We are all interested in viewing, discussing and promoting woodworking, more specifically studio furniture. We even had a few participants come all the way Japan and Australia.

The conference is a fantastic opportunity to rub elbows with some truly gifted craftsmen and craftswomen who are all very passionate about furniture design and making. One afternoon, I found myself having a street side coffee with Wendell Castle (the key note speaker and world renowned woodworker) and Vivian Beer (this year’s winner of Ellen DeGeneres’s (furniture) Design Challenge. We discussed design, fabrication, marketing and tools, it was great shop talk. Another time I bantered with Michael Fortune and Silas Kopf about gluing veneer, and the subject of the best tequila came up, too. These conversations are spontaneous and a great opportunity to find out what others are doing, as we don’t get out much.

It dawned on me to start a survey on who is using what tools: powered, hand, digital and more. I thought it might give insight on current treads or what the latest widget might be. I interviewed a couple dozen members and thought the more the merrier. You can be a part of this on-going survey-please contribute your answers and take the 10 questionnaire, here. You will be entered into a free raffle to win a signed Wendell Castle poster of his 10 adopted rules which includes my favorite: “If you hit the bull’s-eye every time, the target is too near”

I will posted the results of the survey and we will see what tools are the top favorites.

The Furniture Society was founded in 1996 with annual conferences that bounce around the country. They are typically held at leading art, design and crafts universities, and it has 735 members this year. Its mission is to advance the art of furniture making by inspiring creativity, promoting excellence and fostering an understanding of this art and its place in Society.

The three-day conference is a mix of panel discussions, presentations, demonstrations and workshops that address a variety of subjects. This year was no exception on the diverse range of topics, including women in crafts, residencies, digital design (sponsored by Autodesk), marketing, chair design, wood carving, “Objectology” (my favorite presentation) and much much more. Workshops even included Carbon fiber reinforced wood and epoxy infusion.

There is an extra day before the conference where attendees have an opportunity to tour various museums, workshops and manufacturer. This year attendees could visit George Nakashima’s and Wharton Esherick’s woodshops / homes, a Hearne hardwood tour,  Knoll International’s and Martin Guitar’s Factories. The last two I attended, and WOW!

Each year the Society acknowledges a few notable craftspeople with an award of distinction (AOD) for their contribution to the field. This year’s awards went to the well-deserving Ned Cooke and Thomas Hucker, which included inspiring presentations of their work and acceptance speeches. Some of the past winners have been Art Carpenter, Wendell Castle, Michael Fortune, Sam Malouf, Wendy Maruyama, Gary Knox Bennett, Judy Kensley McKie, Jere Osgood, William Keyser, Tage Frid, Jame Krenov, to name a few. It was truly amazing presentations.

And speaking of amazing, Wendell Castle was the Keynote Speaker, he discussed his thoughts on design, inspiration and the role of technology in woodworking. He inspired and blew everyone away. That was worth the price of admission alone.

Other events included a gallery walk to simultaneous furniture shows to some the top galleries in town: The Center for Arts in Wood, Moderne Gallery, Wexler Gallery, Snyderman-Works Galleries and more.

“Slide Wars,” another not-to-miss event, is an evening of sometimes a bit rowdy, but always complimentary, viewing of member’s work. Any member can submit up to five slides and they get five seconds per slide to talk about or scream out comments over the enthusiastic crowd. It’s always very fun and enlightening to see what others are doing. Watch out for some of the upcoming students, boy are they doing some nice work. I recall seeing Vivian Beer many years ago and knew she was going places. A truly passionate craftswomen.

I encourage any serious woodworker to consider joining the Furniture Society and/or attending one of their conferences. Getting out of the shop (which I don’t do much), it can be very invigorating!

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