Bench Notes from the shop. Thoughts, observations, and work in progress.

On Making Chairs, and the Wood That Holds You

People ask, sometimes, if I am a furniture maker. I tell them no. A furniture maker cuts square corners. I cannot cut a square corner to save my life. That is why I make chairs. There is a kind of freedom in that admission. Windsor chairmaking is not a craft of straight lines and tight…

by LarryWood April 21, 2026April 21, 2026

Charcuterie board’s

A Board Meant to Be Used Long before charcuterie became a word we used casually, boards like these already existed. They weren’t made for display. They were made because people needed a solid surface to cut bread, slice meat, serve food, and gather around a table. char·cu·te·rie: (French: from chair, meaning “flesh,” and cuit, meaning…

by LarryWood January 20, 2026

If trees could talk

It’s reasonable to wonder whether towns like the ones we grew up imagining still exist. Places with wide porches, mature trees, and neighborhoods that feel settled and known. The kind of towns you might remember from an old television show. La Grande is one of them. Nestled in the Grande Ronde Valley of eastern Oregon,…

by LarryWood January 17, 2026