My annual reflection and some thoughts on the year ahead follow.

Productivity at the workshop in 2023 was on par with prior years but with much more variety. In sum, ten Projects were completed, and these included a couple restorations, a T-shirt and a yet to be revealed clock. Non-furniture Projects like those restorations remind me of the days before the Red Top when home repairs and sprucing up antique store finds were my thing. Now with a shop full of machines, I had gotten away from these rewarding jobs where a tool box, some glue and a can of varnish were all that was needed. Working to make clocks and furniture provides a nice constructive outlet, but refinishing a worn chair remains a worthy endeavor. Both seek that thrill of completing something special.

Of the past year’s builds I have to say that the No. 220 Prairie Settle was my finest. When I began that Project in September of 2022, I worried that it was perhaps beyond my abilities. That one piece took half a year to complete but it turned out well and gives me joy whenever I look or sit upon it. Completing No. 220 also gave me confidence to continue challenging myself in the workshop and at the design desk. A new clock design and a mirror, followed by loving renditions of a marble clock and two East Asian classics provided additional opportunities to stretch. As we begin 2024, fresh lumber for three new Projects is conditioning in the shop.

Tackling new builds is a great way to learn but in 2023 I also hit the books to school myself on the history of clocks and, even more so, Arts and Crafts furniture. Historically a social movement rather than a design style, the ideas that shaped the Arts and Crafts period (1880-1920) continue to edify us as we experience a rising demand for maker spaces and a renewed desire for hand made items. I wrote about one aspect of this movement in win back art and feel very strongly that we must look for and appreciate the creativity in all we do. It is important for our well being, and I now wear that ethos on my back.

The Projects and those additional studies were instructive, but the biggest influence for me in 2023 was the experience of seeing English Arts and Crafts furniture in the museums and shops of their native land. Book illustrations can excite, but an encounter ignites. My memories of those encounters are vivid. Their accumulation has formed new ideas that, like seeds, I expect will germinate as conditions favor.

Happy New Year all!