Chair MAKING
Number One Chair by Michael Fortune, curly maple (25"x25"x34"), 2001
Michael Fortune
July 19 – 30
Chairs can be the most challenging and rewarding of all furniture forms. In this course, each student designs and builds a functional chair prototype with Michael’s experienced guidance. Michael has designed dozens of successful chairs, ranging from inexpensive mass-produced designs, to limited-run chairs made in his own workshop, to one-of-a-kind designs for private residences.
Lectures and demonstrations cover ergonomics, steam bending, laminate bending, jig-making, machining, joinery, and more. Michael’s simple and direct “no math” approach to working with curves and compound angles allows parts to be accurately cut to length or mortised with common woodworking machines such as miter saws and routers. This is a great opportunity to push your skills to the next level.
Michael Fortune is an acclaimed furniture maker, designer, and educator based in Peterborough, Ontario. His three-person workshop specializes in high-end, one-of-a-kind furniture, but he also designs for commercial production. His extensive teaching experience includes eight years at Toronto’s Sheridan College School of Crafts and Design and two years as Chair of the Wood Products Design program in Nelson, British Columbia. Among other honors, Michael received Canada’s coveted Bronfman Award in 1993, was inducted into the Royal Canadian Academy, received the Queen’s Jubilee Award, and was presented with the Furniture Society’s Award of Distinction in 2007.