My family and I just returned from a really wonderful vacation to the coast of Maine. It was nothing but scenic small towns and shops, trees, and the ocean. The kids spent all of their free time digging around on the beach. A great getaway!
My wife and I enjoyed the wide range of cool artist shops, too. Around every bend in the road there seemed to be another independent artisan of some type. Potters, weavers, photographers, paper-makers; they are all out there. Being a cabinetmaker, I had to stop at a few woodworkers’ showrooms when I could. One such shop really stuck out, and my visit with its owner may prove to be quite fruitful for me. Geoffrey Warner is a gifted furniture maker and designer, who spent some of his early woodworking years under the tutelage of the Dutch master Tage Frid. He welcomed us to his quaint and airy cedar shingle-clad shop and showroom near Stonington, Maine. His designs are organic and beautiful, and quite comfortable and functional. Every piece was exquisitely crafted.
After a short look around, I told him that I was also in his line of work, and that I get inspired by visits to artists. Our discussion soon turned to business. Mr. Warner has had quite a bit of success of late running workshops for amateur woodworkers. In particular, his weekend shops for building his “Owl Stool” have been quite successful. Wanting to make and market pieces that more of his neighbors could either buy or build themselves, he has created a very simple, very sturdy, and very comfortable stool design. And, with this one piece, he has managed to create an inviting class for now over 50 workshop attendees in the past year.
With my appearance at his door, and our talk that day, the idea of a sister workshop for his design and class was brought up. We discussed the idea of a kind of franchise for the “Owl Stool Workshop.” If Geoffrey Warner can attract weekend warriors to his shop in Maine, then why can’t Black & Sons attract some venturing souls to ours? It’s an idea we will be exploring together in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!