The second woodworking event that I went to this past weekend was the Twentieth Annual Nova Scotia Folk Art Festival held in the town of Lunenburg where there were fifty folk artists displaying over 1500 pieces of folk art!

The festival poster touted this as “the best four hours of fun on the South Shore” and they were not lying! Likewise, their website states, “The atmosphere is electric, there is colourful folk art everywhere, accented by the bright sounds of fiddle music, the auctioneers banter, door prize draws and the enthusiasm of browsers and buyers.” I couldn’t write it any better if I tried! It was a festival in the true sense of the word.

Also from their website, “Sponsored by the Lunenburg Heritage Society with the support of the Nova Scotia Folk Art Society, this juried event has a fine and well-earned reputation as a premier festival showcasing and selling the work of the best Nova Scotia folk artists.”

As you can imagine, with over 1500 pieces on display I was treated to a wide range of the wild, the wacky, the wonderful, and the whimsical! Here are just a few photos that I took:

Continue reading '20th Annual Nova Scotia Folk Art Festival'

I had a chance this past weekend to visit a couple of local woodworking related events. This first one combined my love of working with wood with my interest in Mi’kmaq and Native art. It was a day related to basket making appropriately called ‘Basketry Day’. The day was organized by The Nova Scotia Basketry Guild in celebration of their 20th anniversary.

The event opened with a Mi’kmaq drum ceremony and continued throughout the day with lectures and basket making demonstrations. In addition to the focus on Mi’kmaq basketry there were also talks and demonstrations on the Nantucket and Shaker style baskets.

I was most interested in the Mi’kmaq style of basket making and was not disappointed.

An excellent demonstration was done by retired Chief Greg McEwan of the Bear River First Nations. He lives in the village of Bear River, an artisan community located a few miles upstream from the Annapolis Basin in Western Nova Scotia, where he also operates a basket shop called Beartown Baskets. The photo above shows a great example of his work.

Continue reading 'A Great Day For Making Baskets'

My final stop on this trip to Maine was to Captain Tinkham’s Emporium in Searsport. Located in a circa 1840 brick storefront, formerly the Captain Parker residence, it is designated as a National Register of Historical Buildings. Although the main component of the store is devoted to books, antiques and collectibles the tool annex has a great selection of old tools and hardware.

Captain Tinkham’s is operated by The Jonesport Wood Company which also has stores in Liberty and Hulls Cove, Maine. Combined they have thousands of old tools including hand planes, precision machinist tools and usable artifacts. For almost 35 years, they have purchased tool collections and estate lots and cleaned out cellars and attics in the New England area. They then ship these items to their stores. Owner H. G. Skip Brack is also the founder and curator of the Davistown Museum, a tool museum with a primary mission of recovery, display, and interpretation of hand tools used in Maine and New England’s maritime culture. (A visit here is in the plans for my next trip to the area!)

I have such fun turning tool handles that I picked up 16 files that are in need of some good wooden grips. I also picked up an awl. They are all in great condition and only cost around 12 bucks. A deal that is hard to beat.

Here are the photos of my visit:

Continue reading 'Toolfest At Captain Tinkham’s Emporium'

A couple of miles north of Camden in Lincolnville, Maine is Windsor Chairmakers, where owners Jim and Nance Brown invite you into their showroom, to watch chairs being made and talk Windsors. I had a chance to drop by while in the area and I saw some great examples of their fine workmanship.

For over 20 years Windsor Chairmakers has been handcrafting Windsor chairs, a style that dates back to the 1700′s. They also make tables, benches, stools, desks, beds, buffets and chests. In 2002, they added a line of custom-designed Shaker furniture.

All pieces are custom-made using traditional methods. For example, the chairs are made of ash with a deep scooped, one-piece seat and the tables are hand-planed.

The showroom is extensive! There dozens (100′s?) of examples of different styles of chairs including sackbacks, continuous arm and some with built in writing tables. They stand behind their workmanship so much that there is even a display of their competitors chairs where you can compare the difference in quality.

Continue reading 'A Visit To Windsor Chairmakers'