Hello all, this is my first attempt on your forum. I have conversed with our forum moderator, on another forum, for some time and have received valuable information about furniture building and finishing.

Recently I posted a picture of a table I built and Ralph suggested I show it here. I must apologies as this in more in my line of furniture, Country / Early American / Shaker, than Arts & Craft, however, I do appreciate quarter-sawn white oak.

This is from a plan I obtained in Old Salem, North Carolina, drawn from a table built in the early 1800's.

Y'all have a gooden...

jess

Jess --

Welcome to ACS! Your table is exquisite and entirely appropriate to the high level of individual craftsmanship we expect from dedicated practitioners of their art.

For my part, I have a number of beautiful American antiques. My mother-in-law, an antique dealer for decades, used to call those pieces "rich farmer furniture." As a devotee of the "good" early stuff that was primarily built of cherry, black walnut, and maple, she used to say "Oak is a very nice wood. It burns hot and leaves very little ash." She was a bit of a snob about it.

I hope that more craftspeople will share their skill to open new avenues for ACS so we can expand our appreciation of work being created now by contemporary artisans.

Best regards,
Rikki

Hello John, (Jess)

Thanks for coming to the Arts and Crafts Society forums and your table is even better looking here than on the other forum.

Welcome to these forums as I am sure you will find a good bit to learn from especially about Arts and Crafts Furniture as well as the other materials from the A&C Movement.

Respectfully,

Ralph Jones

Welcome John,

During the same time as the Arts & Crafts Movement here in America. The people here developed a new interest in our colonial heritage. Your table is a fine example of the simplicity in design they were admiring. Wallace Nutting was documenting and reproducing the early furniture for resale due to the interest. He also photographed colonial home interior scenes with costumed models portraying the idylic lifestyle then..... There were even special costume parties where folks of means would dress up in colonial garb, wigs and all. This practice was so wide spread that it brought back the use of shoe buckles. I have several examples of these buckle made during the first quarter of the 20th century in both silver and copper.

Your work is commendable. Thank you for sharing it with us.

Fred