Interview With The Modern Woodworkers Association

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The Modern Woodworkers Association started in 2010. Their mission is to organize and connect woodworkers online, help educate woodworkers, and to promote the craft to ensure it carries on. It has become a great single source for woodworkers to find out what is going on in the woodworking world both online and off. 

The MWA podcasts are open for public consumption and they cover all things woodworking. In this episode they talk about the Woodworking In America shows and some other general happenings in the world of woodworking. I come in about 17:45 where you can see me looking like a tecnnoboob as I try to figure out how to connect with these guys on Google+.

After that we talk about the fine woodworking museum exhibition, where I have my prairie chandelier on display, working 30 hour days to get it done, and the 5 questions they ask all of their guests. You will find out if I prefer thongs or boxers and we also talk about my sharpening techniques that really upset the “woodworking establishment.”

I just watched the video and, even though I participated in it, I was surprised at how many gold nuggets there were in the information we cover. I actually spill the beans and share the secret to successful woodworking!

I had a great time with these guys and I was still energized the next couple of days after talking with them. I hope you enjoy the video and get something useful out of it.

 

 The Modern Woodworkers Association is headed up by:

Chris Adkins of High Rock Woodworking

Dyami Plotke of The Penultimate Workshop

Tom Iovino of Tom's Workbench

Nick Roulleau of Mansfield Fine Furniture

Be sure to check out the MWA. You can find out their mission statement and what they are all about HERE.

That's all for now. Until next time, be safe in your own shop!

Your friend in the shop,

Todd A. Clippinger

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Showing in Fine Woodworking Exhibition at Museum of the Rockies

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Hittin' The Big Time!

If you follow me on Twitter or FaceBook, you probably already know the exciting news. I was invited to show at a fine woodworking exhibition at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, Montana. The show is currently going on and running 3 months until Jan 27th.

There is a total of 25 woodworking artists showing and I am very honored to be counted among them. They are certainly a group of high-caliber artisans. 

(You can click on the images for a larger version to capture all the details.)

The curator requested that I build a prairie chandelier for the exhibition. At first it was "chandeliers" - plural - because I had originally built a set of two. At a certain point I was told there would only be room for one over the dining table where it would be displayed, but by then, I already had the parts milled and joinery cut for two units. In the end, I only needed to assemble one and the 2nd chandelier lays mostly in parts with the assembly only begun.

It was better that I only had to build one because they are more technically challenging to assemble than it looks. That means it was taking longer than I thought and I was way behind, even for assembling just one chandelier. 

Magic Mike Bails Me Out-

Being that I was running behind, I enlisted the help of a good friend, Mike Pasini. He is a pretty talented guy that I can trust and get along with in the shop. If anyone is "the chosen one" to spend time in my shop - it is Mike. He also helped me out with the bookcase for charity earlier this year. 

OK, I really am understating Mike's help - he really saved my bacon! For those that followed me on Twitter and FB, they were getting a first-hand account of the drama as I worked non-stop and ran into unexpected problems with my compressor and the finish. 

I ended up pulling a few 30 hour days in the shop and barely got done in time. But, as it stands now, I have a prairie chandelier hanging on display for a fine woodworking exhibition in a museum setting! 

Opening weekend was great for me. I got to hang out with a couple dozen high-end woodworkers and share in some great conversation. It really nourished me as an artist.

One thing that became clear is this, we all seem to share a very similar experience as we make our living offering fine woodworking projects. My experiences are not unique, they are common to those that choose this life. And we cannot help but to express ourselves in our work and try to make a living at it. 

Be Sure To Check It Out!

I highly recommend checking out the exhibition, it runs until 27 Jan 2013 at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, MT.

For now, one thing you can enjoy are the artists' audio recordings. We each tell a little bit about our background and the works that we have on display. You can hear them at the Museum of the Rockies web page, just click on each artist name to hear that person's recording.

This parking garage stairwell tower in Cleveland, Ohio is the one I reference in my audio recording.

What Is The Secret?

For those that wonder how do you get into something like that, all I can say it is a lot of hard work in the shop growing as an artist and craftsman, and never underestimate the importance of making connections. I have not lacked when for hours spent in the shop, being honest with myself in my work, and networking. 

What you are seeing, is the glamorous result of a lot of hard work. I certainly don't want to discourage anybody, that aspires to achieve the same, I am just letting you know what it takes. 

That's all for now. Until next time, be safe in your own shop. 

Your friend in the shop, 

Todd A. Clippinger

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The ACW Published in WOOD Magazine!

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Hey guys!

As usual, the summer season is the busiest for my remodeling work and it takes me away from my passion of sharing with the woodworking community. But I will take what I can get so the good news is that I am still at it.
The latest issue of WOOD Magazine has just hit the bookstores and mailboxes and I was lucky enough to get a full page of coverage! The article gives tips from 4 small pro shops and mine was one of the shops covered.
 
While there is a lot more wisdom and experience we could each share, they picked a few tips from each shop to give a good cross section of helpful advice for the wide variety of woodworkers out there.
 
To see the tips from my shop, check out page 48!
Photography Credits go to my friend's daughter Yasmine Morup. She is a junior in high school and has an interest in photography. I gave her a call so she could get in on the action and get published. She and her family are pretty excited to see her work published and distributed internationally. Thanks for a great job Yaz!
 
(WOOD Magazine gave me their full blessing to use any images of their magazine.)
A Visit to WOOD Magazine Headquarters

I just returned from doing some work in Ohio for my mom, she has had some health issues so we are turning her house into single floor living. My normal route between Montana and Ohio takes me through Des Moines, Iowa.
This happens to be where Meredith Publishing is located, and this is the headquarters for WOOD Magazine. So I had to stop in for a visit to meet the editors.
 
I had a great visit with everyone and got a tour of the facilities. They gave me a peak into the shop where the projects are developed for each issue of WOOD Magazine and of the studio shop where the step-by-step woodworking projects are photographed for the articles. 
Since this is the headquarters for several Meredith publications, there is an area that is like a storage warehouse for movie sets, except that it is all for setting up scenes for the various magazines. This services all of the magazines with the backdrop sets that they might need.
 
The Woodworker's Dream Job? 

One thing that had never occurred to me, are the opportunities that a woodworker or carpenter might have with a company like Meredith. Somebody has to build, modify, and disassemble sets constantly. They have a couple guys that do this everyday for the various magazines under the Meredith roof. They have a dedicated shop just for these guys located between the warehoused set pieces and the stage area where the scenes are constructed for the photo shoots.
 
A real dream job could be designing and building the projects for WOOD Magazine. There are a couple of furniture makers that focus solely on creating the projects for each issue. How cool would that be?
 
Some Sweet Projects!

One other great thing, was getting to visit the WOOD Magazine gallery. It is an area that they keep most of the projects that are designed for the magazine. I recognized many of the projects from past issues. And just like with my work, the photos do not give justice compared to seeing the projects in person.
 
I will say that my favorite projects are the 2 most recent ones. They are the pub table and chairs on the cover of this issue, and the Asian inspired media end table that will be featured in the next issue. The pub table is found on page 50 and the media end table is inside the back cover on page 84 giving a peak at what's in the next issue. I felt these were projects that would have come right out of my shop.
 
They Genuinely Love Woodworking

One thing that impressed me was that the guys all have a genuine interest in woodworking. The consensus among the editors was that they would like to write less about woodworking and spend more time in their shops, and they ALL have shops at home.
They even pointed out that, although it is not a requirement for an employee of WOOD Magazine to be a woodworker, even the secretaries and assistant staff members have woodworking shops at home.
 
That is all for now. I have more big news to share but this is enough for one sitting, I have a lot to do in the shop.
Until next time - be safe in your own shop!
Todd A. Clippinger
Share the Love~Share the Knowledge