open studio 2017

ok .. a little late getting this post up, but we will be here til 5 today ... 

stop in if you are in the dorset area .. looks like this today ..

all cleaned up!

looked like this yesterday

                                            25th anniversary year for vermont open studio

open studio this weekend

comin up again ... it's vermont open studio weekend.  over 200 artists statewide will open their studios this saturday and sunday from 10 to 5 both days.

stop in here to see furniture, handmade jewelry, pottery, architectural metalwork, 

and custom banjos and guitara.
we're in dorset, one mile up danby mountain road from route 30.  follow the signs at goodwood lane.
there's a map to our studio here
and a statewide open studio map here

there is an album of photos from previous open studio weekends on our 

dorset custom furniture facebook page

give us a like while you're there, and come on by this weekend.

more photos as we get set up ..

we'll have lots of stuff for sale at special open studio weekend prices ..
you can see some of the available pieces here

open studio ... another year goes by

one more time .... every year, as i'm lugging stuff around the shop, i threaten to swear this event off, (it's almost 20 of those threats now), and every year, once we're all cleaned up and set up, i'm looking forward to it getting under way again ... it's a chance to catch up with the friends and neighbors who might not stop by if they know we're working, and a chance for the thousands of folks who come to vermont for the event to maybe stumble across our studio and buy or order something from one of us. lots of woodworkers come by, and sometimes, even mr. lucky stops by, and, well, that's always fun too. click the photos to enlarge them ...
look for the yellow signs ...
see the amazingly clean office
and the (almost) sawdust free workspace ...
this year we got some lucky free publicity in one of the local shoppers ...
and we have a few new versions of old pieces
and kit and penny get to hang out in the finish room for the weekend
with her paintings and kit's jewelry ... (rush photos here; much better in person ... )
gold wire and lots of precious stone beads
banjos 4, 2, and 1
and an expanding recycled chestnut table ready for finish next week
you can admire the freshly mowed the lawn and the freshly smoooothed driveway ... sam's steel lily in the foreground ...
and check out the mountain pinks (wild azaleas) down by the pond ...
and this year, due to our superior organization (hah) and early start, we even had time left at the end of the day for a beer .... just woke up from my nap ... bedtime now ... see you this weekend. if you're in town, come on by ... dan

Open Studio ... mr lucky stops by for a hat

We had a great Open Studio Memorial Day .... It was easily our best turnout ever. We estimate there were 250-300 people total over the two days ... Lots of clients, a couple of neighbors and lots of people with their Southern Vermont Artisans driving tour looking for signatures for the raffle drawing ... There were four artists at our site so that was probably at least part of our draw. Kit sold a bunch of jewelry and I sold a couple things ... Penny did ok, and Denise was happy to have been included for the first time at our site ... She had not previously met Mr. Lucky, and was happy to assist him with a hat choice .... Click the pictures to enlarge them ...
Shopping
You'd think this would be Mr. Lucky's ride, but it belonged to another visitorwe had crowds like this several times, both days ....they parked on the lawn and up the hillChecked out the progress on Will's banjo building
Just a few of Penny's paintingssold my sculptureand my coffee tableand Mr. Lucky checked out with his new hat ....

Yet Again ... Vermont Open Studio Weekend

It's happened every year for the last 18 years ... Hundreds of Vermont artists welcome their friends, neighbors and strangers into their studios for two days of show and tell. It's about education and community ... It's about cleaning your studio a little more than the usual ... It's an opportunity to maybe put some prototypes and experimental pieces out and see what happens and what people might say about them ... It's like going to a craft fair without the travel ... In short, though I sometimes resist and carp when it's time to actually get it together, but now, at 9:00 Friday night, I'm ready, and I'm sure by the end of Sunday, I will have had another enjoyable and stimulating weekend .... And, Monday's a holiday ..... Click the pictures to enlarge them .... The building above looks like it might be a big outhouse, but it's really my sawdust shed .... The post immediately below is from last year ... We have a new custom hat artist, Denise Tilley showing her hats here at our shop .... more on all this later ...
Bird's Eye View from the front stepWill's working on banjo #2 and carving some maple leaves on some table legs, and we're going to make a slab top table out of the English elm that's leaning up there...
Sam finished up a nice lily that has been lurking outside the metal shop unfinished since last fall
Visitors willing to walk 600 feet to the house can see the 26' x 9' table with the first five pieces of granite in it ...
In the shop, we have the 20'r, but we had to disassemble it for the weekend ..
One of those good deal, experimental pieces, I mentioned earlier
Penny organized her paintings and will hang them in the morning ...
Chris Bowlen stopped by to show us the bench Sam made the metal work for ... very cool ...
A group of us, along with some high school art students made a sculpture at the Northshire Bookstore to raise awareness of 'artists in the community' ....
Looks like it's going to be a perfect weekend weatherwise ...

Clean House ... Back to the Big Tables

Quite a week .. In the last seven days we have delivered or shipped a total of fifteen (15) pieces.
The duck bed last Thursday, the big tv cabinet and two other pieces to the house in Grafton last Friday, a table and 6 chairs to the Southern Vermont Art Center for an upcoming show of New England Furniture Makers that opens next Saturday, two single beds and the recycled oak table to Martha's Vineyard, and today, last but certainly not the least, the big claro walnut slab table to Connecticut. ... I can't believe all that stuff was here at my shop at the same time ... I should have upped my insurance ... My mind is clear, the shop is empty (?) except for the 26' x 9' table and another dining table Will is working on, and I even got a round of golf in today .... Sam's in the metal shop working on a piece for another upcoming show at The Bennington Museum called 'State of Craft 2010' and the steel for the big table .... All for now ... individual updates on these projects and shows as time allows ... Click the photos to enlarge them .... click the links to see the pieces ... One of the single beds heading for the Vineyard ... Simple, modern, maple ply ; the two singles push together to form a king for guests
One of the 'State of Craft' flyers ... more on that later. the show opens the 22nd of this month..
Sam's got his part of the bench ready to paint ... Will and I will start the wood tomorrow ... Hey, we don't have to deliver it til next Friday ... 'Bridge To The Future' ...
The steel granite supports for the big table ... Sam will tap them to bolt two to each of the seven sections and weld end plates on to finish them ... Rugged stuff ...
Almost forgot .. We had our first meeting at the shop yesterday afternoon for a sculpture we;re building at the Northshire Bookstore in Manchester to celebrate this year's Open Studio which takes place May 28th and 29th. Over 250 Vermont artists will open their studios to the public for the weekend .. I think it's the 17th annual and there will be a total of five artists represented at our studio here ... Kit with her jewelry, Dorset Custom Furniture woodworking, Sam and his metal work, Penny Viscusi with her pastels and Denise Tilley with her hand made totally cool hats ... More on that as the event approaches.
Artist's concept ...