September 30: New Hampshire is full of big furniture manufacturers, but there's one big problem they're trying to solve.
“Look around you and you'll see a not-so-young organization made up primarily of men,” says Elliot Savitsky, the new president of the New Hampshire Carpenters Union.
He and other traders say the industry as a whole needs new generations to lower the average age, attract more women and represent a broader range of gender and diversity.
Begin
With one son having graduated from college and two others now living on campus, Kensington mom Amy Sanderson wanted to take advantage of the free time. She began teaching at Homestead Woodworking School in Newmarket and is also a member of Port City Makerspace in Portsmouth, where she runs a workshop and volunteers as an accountant.
So far I've made a couple of shaker tables, a mid-century modern TV stand, and a dresser.
She is one of more than 70 woodworkers who submitted their work to the New England Leading Woodworking Competition, which culminates with the public opening at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center and Planetarium in Concord on Saturday, October 21, beginning at 5 pm 00.
“I'm always learning, from lathes to hand and power tools,” he said. "I could stay there a hundred years and not know everything. I do it to challenge myself and see what other people are doing."
Furniture experts David Lamb, Owen Harris and Garrett Hack will judge the entries, with a category dedicated to young people.
It's a step to convey the message that woodworking and other crafts are a more creative outlet than scrolling through an endless stream of selfies and memes.
Do it yourself – at any age
Lori Farrell, the Woodworkers Guild's sole board member, is a full-time veterinarian who began woodworking as a side hobby.
“I'm 60 years old and I started a while ago,” he said. "Anyone, at any age, can learn this."
Farrell's father sparked his interest in wood carving in 2014.
“I was looking for something to do in the winter when it's cold and snowing,” he said.
A Bradford resident will submit a fishing sculpture for the upcoming competition, which has so far attracted more than 75 entries.
As a former union president, she is leading efforts to diversify the union and hopes to attract underrepresented groups that may not be considered New Hampshire's white majority. (The union also draws members from Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont.)
"That's Elliott's dream: to make it more inclusive and make everyone feel welcome," he said.
Of the union's 745 members, 42 are women. However, Farrell is seeing more people getting involved and expects the number to increase dramatically in the next five to ten years.
The key is to give people an idea of the possibilities, including mentoring programs, courses and events, as well as insight and advice from established professionals.
“We're not getting old,” added Savitsky, who is taking several continuing education and carpentry courses at Boston's North Bennett Street School, a trade school. “We need to evolve and be sustainable. “I want to continue this legacy.” It specializes in traditional crafts.
David Lamb shakes hands
Lamb, a master carpenter from Canterbury, often shares his experiences and techniques with those considering a career in carpentry.
“If you grow up with a landline and a TV with rabbit ears,” Lamb said with a laugh, you might have a better idea of the importance of maintaining traditional skills.
But in general, many people don't realize that there are many ways to learn carpentry, whether as a hobby or as a career.
His own journey had some interesting turns, beginning with his childhood in Canterbury Shaker Village, a religious community founded in 1792 that has operated as a museum since 1992. The Shaker style of furniture was a hallmark of his belief in joining hands. Work, work and hearts belong to God. »
“My mother remarried and we moved there, not as movers, but my parents were basically appointed caretakers and eventually curators and educational directors as the museum developed,” he said. “The town was surrounded by all this history and antiques – Shaker furniture and antiques.”
Lamb was already interested in carpentry when Alejandro de la Cruz, a traditionally trained, Spanish-born carpenter and family friend and neighbor, knocked on the family's door and asked Lamb if he would be interested in an apprenticeship. .
After three years under his tutelage, Lamb went to Boston University to study furniture design and then returned to the Granite State to open his own store, where he began incorporating American Federal and Rococo elements into his famous creations and integrating intricate work of art. design. .
His commissions include a piece from the collection of the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester. The bright secretary desk with four large drawers under a large double door was made in 2020 from birch, poplar and pine. The large, shiny piece is covered in finely carved ornaments and ornate leaves.
In another development, Lamb and his wife Janet live in the same house where their teacher once lived.
The cape's appearance dates back to the 1840s, but existing records suggest it may have been built as early as 1810. Shakers moved this house down the hill twice and it has stood at its current location since 1858.
De La Cruz built the store around 1960, using windows, doors and even flooring that came from an old store in St. Louis. Pablo's gym.
The Lambs tripled the size of this workshop by salvaging and demolishing an 1890s timber frame factory in Belmont and rebuilding it piece by piece in Canterbury.
It has an antique feel, with wood dust mixed in with a collection of antique woodworking machines, mostly from the John White Company dating from between 1860 and 1910, some of which are in good condition.
"It's not very modern or very clean," he said. You get the feeling: “It's been around for 100 years. That is the effect I want: old tradition.”
“It is a journey from 1972 to today. “I have been completely immersed in the world of furniture manufacturing for 50 years,” he says.
Janet Lamb was an integral part of the process, doing all the superficial and superficial work by hand, while the majority of David's work consisted of sewing, rounding, carpentry and carving crafts.
“There is not a single work in my studio that I have not participated in.”
jweekes@unionleader.com
