Workin’ My Butt Off!

Guys – I kid you not, I have a full plate and I am getting up early and working late everyday. But it is very exciting as there are a lot of things going on behind the scenes.

Clamp Storage SytemThe economy must be getting better because I am getting calls and jobs like I normally should. It actually started early this year which was a mystery to me but a welcome one.

I have added 9 more detail photos and information to the Shop page. I know it is all about the details so you will have to be sure and check it out. In the future I will assemble a nice shop tour but that won’t happen for a while because of my work load at this time.

Going to the Artwalk…

I was asked to participate in the Billings Artwalk in May, that was very exciting. I already had a pretty full work load so I am not sure that I will be able to make anything new, I will just take what I currently have and put together a nice presentation. Only a handful of people in Billings have seen the pieces that I have in my house, that Rita and I live with everyday.

The Billings Artwalk is a great social event and Rita and I love to attend. Many towns have them and they are either referred to as artwalks, gallery hops, or gallery crawls. All the galleries and the art museum stay open late and have free wine and snacks (that brings the people for sure) to get the public exposed to the local art scene.

It is not a juried show, but I thought it was neat that someone invited me to show because they viewed me as an artist. It will be some good exposure locally to change people’s mind of what furniture can be or what woodworking can produce. Woodworking suffers an image problem as a handy hobby instead of being another form of artistic expression, or being able to marry an artistic form with the function of an everyday item.

Shhh… Business Secrets

I should make a point here about the importance of this as a business or creative person. Attending your local artwalk, even as a viewer, is a great thing to do. It is a good social mixer, you will make lots of connections to other creative people, and you have the potential to make business connections. It makes a great date night with the wife and is just an all-around fun time.

Got Something Big Here!

In the shop with Scott MorrisonI will leave you with this today as I need to head back out to the shop.

I was able to get with Scott Morrison and do a video interview. Scott is a great craftsman that actually makes a living from building Sam Maloof inspired furniture. Be sure to check out his site to see all of the projects that he creates daily.

When we started out, I told Scott “Oh I suppose it will only be a 20 minute chat I don’t plan on getting into an hour long interview.”

Well, Scott and I talked for an hour and ten minutes and he shares some great information. He talks about his background, his business, shop, and his wife’s role in supporting the business. He also shares what his relationship to Sam Maloof was like.

One thing just led to another. I didn’t have a specific list of questions, but I had outlined some topics to be sure and cover so it was a spontaneous Q & A session.

I have a lot of footage to go through and I am sure that I will be releasing it in segments every week or so. Scott was very generous with time and information. It is just a pretty normal conversation in the shop and I wanted to bring you along.

Scott’s a truly great guy. He is another craftsman that lives the motto “Share the Love~Share the Knowledge.”

That’s all for now so I will leave you with this teaser and a shop tour video that Scott just released this morning.

Share the Love ~ Share the Knowledge

Don't Hold It All In ~ Click Here To Leave A Comment!

Building Sam Maloof Inspired Furniture

Did you ever dream of building a rocking chair inspired by Sam Maloof? Or looking to build other furniture that carries the sensual and sculpted designs famously inspired by him?

Scott Morrison, a successful furniture maker and designer in his own right, has released instructional DVD's sharing the knowledge and techniques for making this style of furniture in your own shop.

Scott Morrison Instruction DVD's

I just finished viewing the instructional DVD's for two pieces of furniture. Scott recently sent me the DVD titles "Building an Elegant Rocking Chair" and "Building a Contemporary Barstool." I also received the templates for the Contemporary Bar Stool.

If his name sounds familiar, perhaps you have seen Scott's work or an article covering him in a woodworking publication. His work has been published in Fine Woodworking, WoodWork, and he appeared in the February 2010 Woodworker's Journal for a butterfly joint that he developed. His work has also appeared in other magazines covering home furnishings and style. To see more you can visit his site Finewoodworker.com.

The Guidelines

As I viewed the DVD's I had to think about what I am really looking for. What makes an instructional DVD good or bad?

The first two things that people notice when watching a video is if the light or sound is bad. I don't believe that the viewer is expecting Hollywood studio quality in these categories, but the light and sound should be reasonably good allowing us to adequately see the demonstration and hear the instruction.

Next, the quality of the content is measured. Does the presenter have good content and is it efficiently shared with the viewer? Or does the presenter ramble off on irrelevant tangents?

Also, is the instruction presented in a logical and comprehensive manner? The information may all be available in the video, but the presentation may be so poorly laid out that it leaves the viewer confused and unable to assemble the blocks of broken information into something sensible.

The Verdict

Elegant Rocking Chair DVD'sThe videos are professionally burned and packaged. This insures quality and compatibility with various DVD players, especially old ones that won't play DVD's burned on the computer (we recently retired one of those.)

The discs had chapters and I checked them. they all functioned as they should. The chapters were especially important for the rocking chair, a quick look and confidence was immediately instilled by seeing all of the titles. This was a quick outline and indicator of the information held within.

Bar Stool DVD'sI watched all of the videos and I found them to be of good quality and very interesting. The videos captured my attention from beginning to end and they were very comprehensive.

Scott's delivery of the information is very friendly and logical. It feels like he is giving you a personal lesson in his shop and he gives you the confidence to successfully complete these otherwise intimidating projects.

The videos are shot in Scott Morrison's own shop with both tripod and hand held shots. The lighting and sound are good. I could always see the action and hear the instruction.

The quality of the content was great in both videos. Scott lays everything out logically, communicates well, and stays focused. These all add up to a clear delivery for the volumes of information that he shares.

The visual information that he shares is of tremendous importance for projects like these and he was not stingy with it. Ever notice how the TV shows can't give enough detail information because they have a specific amount of time to fill? Scott was not bound by time constraints. That means he was able to take the time to share all of the details, knowledge, and techniques necessary to insure your success.

The video was rich with visual information. He explains what he is going to do, why he is going to do it, and then he gives plenty of video footage for the viewer to see how it is done. With the grinding process this is important. The viewer gleans much information on how to grind by watching the nuances of Scott's movements and actions. I think this provides a tremendous value to the viewer.

I think that a great value to add to all of this is Scott's support. I know of one woodworker that purchased the video and templates to "Build A Simple Rocking Chair" and he was very happy with the support that he received from Scott. So rest assured, if you have a question, you will get an answer.

A Word On Templates

Bar Stool TemplatesMy simple suggestion concerning the templates is BUY THEM. Purchasing the templates will make life so much easier. I have designed enough of my own furniture to know the value of buying a template.

The templates are printed to full scale and include printed instructions on the paper. There is also a "bonus" section on each set of the DVD's that gives instruction on making and using the templates. Jig construction and usage are also covered in this section as well.

A Discount Offer

Since I was doing this review I thought that I might see if Scott had an special offers that he could extend to the readers. I shot him an email and he sent one back with an offer of 15% off any videos, templates, and the new butterfly kit that will be ready soon.

March 17 2010 - UPDATE ON DISCOUNT

Scott Morrison informed me that the PayPal discount field was experiencing some problems. To get the 15% discount at this time, the buyer will have to pay the full price upfront, but just email him with the information of the transaction and the “Captain Clippinger” special (it’s because I asked:) and he will refund the discount back to you right away.

I can vouch for Scott answering his emails pretty regularly because whenever I have had a question for him, I received a response within a couple of hours.

I hope that this clears up any confusing situations that may have occurred. It is a great opportunity to get 15% off instruction and support to build some beautiful pieces of furniture.

This offer runs to the end of March 2010. That is just 2 weeks to get a discount of 15% on the video instruction and templates for creating some incredible furniture!

You can see all that Scott has to offer at Finewoodworker.com.

Your friend in the shop, Todd A. Clippinger

Peace, Love, & WoodWorking Discounts