Loop Back Windsor Chair
Seat: One-piece white pine boards, sawn from huge logs over 30″ inches in diameter, are my choice for seats. When painted with milk paint the growth rings in white pine raise. These subtle elliptical lines telegraph through the paint, adding visual interest to the seat's surface. Legs: Sugar maple, one of the strongest North American hardwoods, is ideal for traditional chair legs. Virtually imporous, it holds the crisp details of baluster turnings without crumbling. Back Spindles and Bow: Oak is strong and flexible, it splits predictably and bends well — it is perfect for chair backs. Stories: The building of a handmade chair is a personal process. With the delivery of each chair order, the customer will receive a short story that I wrote about their chair. Each story is a personal memento of the chairmaking process, a moment in the chair's birth, preserved in words. Some of these stories may be posted on my blog for others to enjoy.
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Using 18th century tools and techniques, Elia Bizzarri rives, hews, shaves, and turns traditional Windsor chairs in his workshop in central North Carolina. Known for the quality and elegance of his turning technique, his chairs reflect an integral understanding of the intrinsic qualities of maple, poplar, hickory, and oak.
Career highlights:
Featured building a Continuous Arm Rocking Chair on Roy Underhill’s “The Woodwright’s Shop” on PBS
North Carolina governor Beverly Purdue highlighted his chairs in the Celebrate NC Craft Exhibition at the Governor’s Mansion in the Fall of 2010.
“Chairs are my passion and my livelihood. Since 2002, I have built Windsor chairs and taught chairmaking full-time. I have never had a ‘real job.’ For this I am thankful.”
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