Some Great Things Happening!

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

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A New Addition to The ACW Site

Shop Posted to ACW!

I am excited to announce that I posted my workshop photos here at the ACW. The page has a format that I have never used before and I just figured it out today. I will be doing an updated, more complete, and comprehensive tour in the future, but I just had to get this posted for now.

Shop LayoutI added a shop drawing that I made with Grizzly's shop designer program. This will help orient viewers to the overall layout as they look at the photos.

You will find the shop listed in the navigation bar at the top of the page. When you visit the shop page, be sure to click on the image to enlarge it so you can see more detail.

I hope you enjoy the shop photos for now, I added some descriptions to help everyone understand some of the details involved with things in the shop.

Grizzly's shop designer program is easy to use and free! You can use it to help layout your shop in scale. There is a full library of tools and objects to choose from that are scaled to size, that way you can work out the most efficient plan  on the computer. Be sure to check it out here.

Your friend in the shop, Todd A. Clippinger

Share the Love~Share the Knowledge

Spring Is Here!

Backyard winterI am so thankful for the longer days and warmer temps. The snow is gone, the grass is getting green and I have been continually working with the shop doors open. 

Billings is kind of in a unique position with the weather patterns. Most of the moisture gets dumped in the mountains just west of us and most of the cold weather coming down from Canada hits just east of us. We continually catch an upswelling of warm air from the southwest that peaks right in our area. We live in this bubble of warm air. I guess that makes us the Billings Bubble People.

 

Backyard SpringI have this incredible view out my backyard of the sandstone cliffs that rise from the banks of the Yellowstone River. These are referred to as the "rims" which is short for rimrock. There is a nature preserve on top of the rims that allows a person to hike all around with the most amazing views.

I have been in Billings since '91 and it is a major change from where I grew up in Ohio.

 

Spring is here and the doors are open.

The scenery in my backyard and the area around town is often inspirational enough to spark ideas. I find that many of my random thoughts and solutions come together when Rita and I walk the dogs or go hiking on the rims.

The last few days of working in the shop with the doors open has been the epitome of a woodworker's dream. The weather is gorgeous and I am working with the doors and windows open. As I am milling material and making cuts, I get an occasional visit from our two dogs Cookie and Bella. I am living the dream and it is just that good.

 

CookieWell, time to head back out to the shop. Remember you can't live dream if you don't spend time in the shop.

Your friend in the shop, Todd A. Clippinger.

Peace, Love, & Woodworking