Craft, Trade, & Manufacturing Courses

Scottsville, NY

Chair Design

Intermediate

This workshop will be an intensive investigation into the design and construction of dining or desk chairs. Making a unique, comfortable, strong and attractive chair is a wonderful challenge and is considered by most to be the pinnacle of woodworking. This course will give you both the anthropometric data (critical human dimensions) required to design comfortable chairs and a simple and effective step by step approach to successfully building chairs even if they incorporate compound curved members and seemingly complex joinery. Participants will develop their own chair design with Michael’s guidance during the class and will then fabricate a full size mock up that can be sat in and evaluated.

The history of chairs will be covered in a slide presentation. Demonstrations on how to make scale models, full size mock ups and jig making for chairs will take place throughout the week. Straightforward methods of upholstering chair seats and backs will be also be covered. Michael will bring examples of several chairs that he has made and will discuss what inspired the designs and how he employs an organized sequence of jigs to fabricate his chairs. The "Getting to Know Your Bandsaw" class on August 15 and the "Using Jigs to Advance Your Woodworking Skills" class on August 16 are ideal classes to take in addition to this 5-day class.

Class fee: $950

Materials fee: $100

Class size limited to 10

Course Details

Location18 Maple St, Scottsville, NY 14546, USA

LevelIntermediate

Capacity10 students

instructor info

Michael Fortune

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Languages spoken: English

Canadian designer/maker, teacher and mentor Michael C. Fortune has become acclaimed for his innovative, but resolved, designs for one-of-a-kind objects in wood, commissioned residential furnishings, and items in limited editions. He is acknowledged for both his technical and design expertise, giving lectures and workshops across Canada, United States, New Zealand, Australia, and Brazil. Michael's work has appeared in numerous exhibitions worldwide and he has taught at many schools and craft centers including; Sheridan College School of Crafts and Design, Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, the Rochester Institute of Technology NY, Worcester Center for Crafts in Massachusetts, Anderson Arts Center, Colorado, Savannah College of Art and Design, Australian National University School of Art, and the Marc Adams School in Indiana where the fellowship program for advanced students has been named in his honor. Michael is the senior mentor for the Artist in Residence program (2018, 2020) at the Centre for Fine Woodworking in New Zealand. Fortune’s international career includes consulting for Trinidad and Tobago's Commonwealth Fund for Technical Assistance, working for sustainable source timber in Mexico aimed at supplying the expanding hotel industry within the country, and volunteering for Woodlinks, a joint Canadian/U.S. not-for-profit organization dedicated to revitalizing vocational training in secondary schools throughout North America. Michael is also assisting a new school in Puerto Rico that promotes use of timber salvaged after destructive hurricanes. In 1993, Michael was the first woodworker to receive the prestigious Prix Saidye Bronfman, Canada’s highest award in the crafts, and in 2007 he was the first Canadian to receive the Award of Distinction from the Furniture Society. He received the Mather Award in 2019 for his contribution to craft in Ontario. Michael Fortune has a clear vision of how fine craft can positively effect the culture and economy of Canada and the world beyond. http://www.michaelfortune.com/