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A Look Back at the Furniture Society Conference

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First, a confession. During the annual member’s meeting on Saturday morning of the 2014 Furniture Society Conference, I went to the beach. Launching into the waters of Port Townsend Bay that morning were dozens of boats for the 20th annual Rat Island Regatta, and among them was a handful of racing shells built by legendary Seattle builders George Pocock and his son, Stan. The lovingly maintained, needle-thin cedar vessels were the elite racing boats of their day and used by university and Olympic teams across the country. They continue to be rowed by this local club when countless more sit idle, forgotten, or unrepaired. The boats, with their cedar glowing under clear layers of varnish against the mild swell of the water, were a chance encounter that only amplified the value of the conference proceedings above on the hill at Fort Worden State Park at "FS14 Rooted: Creating a Sense of Place."

The conference contained a thoughtful balance of presentations and panel discussions combined with numerous workshops, demonstrations, tours, examples of members work, and the now infamous conference tradition of Slide Wars - that rowdy evening event in which members share images of new work for comment, criticism, and praise from their peers. Over the course of three days, furniture makers wandered the grounds of the stunning Fort Worden State Park, listening and contributing to the casual but informed community that embraced both celebrated masters, basement hobbyists', and all variables in between. Highlights were many, but among the moments and experiences that routinely jump to the forefront were:

- The community of makers at each lunch - sharing a table with friends and acquaintances, new and old.

- The presentation of the Award of Distinction to the incomparable Bebe and Warren Johnson of Pritam and Eames, who were introduced and acknowledged by North Bennet Street School president Miguel Gomez-Ibanez.

- The back and forth of conversation between Brian Newell and Richard Scott Newman (moderated by Bebe Johnson) on the ebbs and flows of their remarkable careers told with honesty and humor.

- The many workshop experiences, in particular the ShopBot facilitated digiFabulous featuring Reuben Float, Kimo Griggs, and Christy Oates, the Japanese Handplanes and their use with Tak Yoshino, and the traditional northwest coast carving traditions and tools with David Franklin.

- The comradely atmosphere during the above-mentioned Slide Wars presentation.

I also want to thank the participants and audience of the moderated panel on digital fabrication and my musing on the place of design education among the crafts for their meaningful comments and contributions and to the Furniture Society board and the organizers of FS14 Rooted: Creating a Sense of Place for creating a remarkable experience for the community of craft in furniture.


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