Instagram

I am now employing instagram to do what I do here, since it takes less effort to throw up a post on that platform I am able to present more in-progress shots. So start following me @AustinHeitzmanFurniture for a window into my creative process with all sorts of furniture, bonsai, craft and nature posts.
http://www.instagram.com/austinheitzmanfurniture/

Bonsai!

It's been a little while since I posted anything, as per usual. I have been very busy lately with a number of bonsai stand commissions intended for the upcoming Artisans Cup here in Portland. If you are unfamiliar with the Artisans Cup take a look at the website: http://www.theartisanscup.com It is a very ambitions national bonsai exhibition put on by Ryan Neil, and it promises to be an amazing show, so if you are in the Portland area late September be sure to stop by. If you won't be in the area I suggest you get tickets soon. Here are some fun bonsai shots:

A smaller tree on a Mahogany stand.

 This stand is intended to hold a 200 lb tree on a cantilever with zero sag, so I used a little metal for insurance. The metal is hidden in the two Mahogany supports and dadoed into the oak stand.

 This is how we test our product.

This is the tree on the unfinished stand, it holds it beautifully and scarcely notices the weight- that is a huge relief. Now all that is left is to fume the white oak stand to give it the necessary dark color. 

This tree is hard to get a sense of in the picture- it actually goes back away from you before coming forward again, it looks so flat here however it is anything but in person. Walnut stand with Greene and Greene references meant to echo the scalloped corners of the pot. Feet and stand are designed to echo the strong upward movement in the tree. 

Sometimes woodworking requires you to do things OSHA would never approve of.

I have been working on a new pair of dovetailed benches, the problem is to plug a 54" board into the dovetail jig requires a little more height than usual- I think the picture says it all. Please note this is not an endorsement of routing while on a ladder.

Also for those following along here is how those hall tables came out-

This one is inspired by the great plains- notice the windblown clouds streaking across the blue sky- and is made with blue pine. 

This one recalls a desert sunset, with the Yew top matching the red rocks of Arizona quite well. 

current workings

Winter is a great time to take stock and rethink old ideas. To this end I have been working on a new line of side tables, hall tables and coffee tables. I am also in the process of changing the name of my company, something I should have done long ago, but since it is an incredible pain in the rear I have avoided it like the plague. However 2015 is a new year and with that comes a  new name- Austin Heitzman Furniture- and with that comes a new website (in progress) new business cards and a new line. My interest in exquisite and original pieces of lumber remains the same, I just feel the new name reflects the one of a kind artistry in my work as opposed to inferring a more manufactured line. The work I create is art, art for the home, but art all the same.
How about some pictures?

The new Moon table, more sculptural, a more focused palette and more subtle, and I believe classy, details. 

The new hall table is in progress. I am calling it the Horizon table. The live edge forms a backsplash that also resembles a distant horizon line. The top one is "Sedona Sunset" and the bottom is "Great Plains". Designing the legs for these has been a difficult endeavor, but I am happy with the direction I have chosen.

A new toy. A vacuum press, that makes the bent lamination for the Horizon Table skirt a breeze. I am very excited to explore the potential in this tool. 

I will post about the new website when it is done. 

Wrapped up

Christmas is coming, this is something I am not allowed to forget right now, as many are planning their vacations the retail world is working itself into a frenzy- such is the life.

A lot is going on- I have three articles coming out:
One in Furniture and Cabinetmaking #225 and #226, a British publication for those of you on that side of the pond
http://www.thegmcgroup.com/pc/viewCategories.asp?idCategory=701

I also will have an article in an upcoming issue of Bonsai Focus, also a European publication funny that, but I am not sure which issue yet.
http://www.bonsaifocus.com

For now how about two finished coffee tables.

Catch up

I wanted to catch everyone up on how the coffee table commission is progressing. I am a little ahead of where this post will leave off and I will try and post again shortly- try.

Looking more like a scarab than anything else the parts for the base are rough cut and laid out.

The veneer process takes shape. Brown tape is specialty veneer tape that adheres with water- I once used blue tape instead and after the pressure applied to adhere the veneer it stuck like I have never seen tape stick before. Like removing duct tape from kleenex. Never do that again. On the lower image you can see a rough sketch of the final shape. I made a template with some MDF and a pattern bit to cut the base to size. Also note the other base in production- this, I think, will be a hall table. 

Both bases veneered and cut. 

The four legs attach via sliding dovetails. Using this jig and a guide bushing on the router I can cut the channels fairly easily for the dovetails. 

Art in the Pearl Labor Day Weekend!

For those of you in the Portland Oregon area my wife (http://www.ashleymayjewelry.com) and I will both be participating in one of the top arts and crafts fairs in the country, Art in the Pearl. It is held Labor Day weekend, August 30, 31 and September 1st 2014 at the North Park Blocks in Downtown Portland OR. This is a highly competitive event with only about 130 vendors chosen from over 900 applicants, so the work is always stellar, and we are both very proud to be involved. It is an outdoor event held under the large Elm trees of the Park Blocks, truly beautiful setting and Portland usually provides the perfect weather. Hope to see you there.

visit:
http://www.artinthepearl.com
for details and a complete list of participating artist.