" I'm not a prophet or a stone age man just a mortal with potential of a superman. ".......David Bowie from the song Quicksand

Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness


" Often people attempt to live their lives backwards; they try to have more things, or more money, in order to do more of what they want, so they will be happier. The way it actually works is the reverse. You must first be who you really are, then do what you need to do, in order to have what you want"......Margaret Young

A little History


In 1672 Richard Cumberland wrote that " promoting the well-being of our fellow humans is essential to the : pursuit of our own happiness"

The first and second article of the Virginia Declaration of Rights adopted unanimously by the Virginia Convention of Delegates on June 12th, 1776 and written by George Mason, is that All men are by nature equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a state of society, they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their posterity; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and saftey.

Thomas Jefferson agreed with this thuoght and put it in the text of the Declaration of Independence which reads:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

So that being said, I'm not a prophet or a stone age man just a mortal with potential of a superman.
That quote from David Bowie is my favorite quote of all time. I believe it describes who I am and try to be every day. I'm one to always look forward and never behind. I try to treat people with dignity and respect, so I might get the same in return. I try to do everything to the best of my ability as much as possible..........that is not to say I have no failures, on the contrary, but I certainly try to learn from them.

I do certainly believe in Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness and believe slowly but surely I'm winning!! :)

Thank you all and Peace,
Scott

" A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of humane life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will never sit." D. Elton Trueblood

Today I pay homage to the tree for all it's done for me and the human race.

THE TREE

Its eternal patience, its suffering caused by man and sometimes nature, its witness to thousands of years of earth's history, its creations of fabulous beauty. It does nothing but good, with its prodigious ability to serve, it gives off its bounty of oxygen while absorbing gases harmful to other living things. The tree and its pith live on. Its fruits feed us. Its branches shade and protect us. And, finally, when time and weather bring it down, its body offers timber for our houses and boards for our furniture. The tree lives on.

One can gain knowledge from words, but wisdom only from things. In the living tree, the wood has died. Once it lived, and made the new ring of growth. Then the living parts of the cell died, leaving the cell walls as wood. When the whole tree dies, its' natural fate is to rot, disintegrate, eventually to go back into the soil from which it came.

Many years ago the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright said, " Wood is a friend of mine. The best friend on earth of man is the tree. When we use the tree respectfully and economically, we have one of the great resources of the earth. It is a beautiful material, friendly to man, the supreme material for his dwelling purposes. If a man is going to live, he should live with wood."

The use of wood to create everything from simple habitat to finely crafted woodwork traces its origins almost to the dawn of humankind.

In spite of it's rich history, we continue to discover new ways to use it and new forms to create from it. It's artistic capabilities as well as it's adaptability for our living needs are unlimited. I agree fully with Frank Lloyd Wright, " Wood is a friend of mine."

The heft and feel of a well-worn handle,
The sight of shavings that curl from a blade;
The logs in the woodpile, the sentiment of huge beams in an old- fashioned house;
The smell of fresh cut timber and the pungent
fragrance of burning leaves;
The crackle of kindling and the hiss of burning logs.
Abundant to all the needs of man, how poor the world would be
without wood.
Everard Hinrichs 1865

The century of magnificent awareness preceding the Civil War was the age of wood. Wood was not accepted simply as the material for building a new nation- it was an inspiration. Gentle to the touch, exquisite to contemplate, tractable in creative hands, stronger by weight than iron, wood was, as William Penn had said, " a substance with a soul." It spanned rivers for man; it built his home and heated it in the winter; man walked on wood, slept in it, sat on wooden chairs at wooden tables, drank and ate the fruits of trees from wooden cups and dishes. From cradle of wood to coffin of wood, the life of man was encircled by it.

THE TREE RULES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Remember only five more business days left to sign up to win this chair at Mingo Gallery.....so get on down there, drawing to be selected Saturday, April 2nd !!! Not many names in the hat chances are excellent!:)

Thank you all for following my posts it means alot to me. Talk to you next week, have a great week to come.
Peace,
Scott

" A man should keep his little brain attic stocked with all the furniture that he is likely to use, and the rest he can put away in the lumber room of his library, where he can get if he wants it." Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

" Gossip is the devil's radio" George Harrison



My little brain attic is fully stock if you can believe that! Ever wonder what I do when I'm not making chairs? Well........I buy them!!!!

I just bought this "Gossip Bench". I saw it at an antique shop and it sparked a memory of days gone by. I really didn't want to buy it but it wouldn't let me leave without taking it with me, .....so now it's mine. At the time of purchase I didn't know what it was called I called it a telephone table. I goggled telephone tables and it directed me to the " Gossip Bench". Every home had one in the 40's and 50's. It is a place where housewives could sit and chat on the phone while their husbands were at work. It's a chair with a table attached and a place for a phonebook.
I just found out they are trendy and I'll fix this one up and sell it at the store. Take a look at what people are doing to theirs!

Funky......I like it!

Distessed!.....I like it.

Not my color....but O.K.

Slick!....can't go wrong with black and white.

Here's one that's selling for $1,890.00.......please.
Anyway gossip benches are not needed for their intended purpose any more we have Facebook. It used to be you only really knew dirt on someone through gossip, the phone made it a perfect place to do it, allowing you to not have to look another human in the eyes, Facebook does the same.......I have no point to be made just saying.

Robin is in Maine on a buying trip for the up and coming Vintage store /chair gallery. With the extra time I went on my own little local buying trip. I love old shit!!! I like it because it's unique and well thought out and well made, and it sparks so many memories. Today's stuff I guess will be cool in 50 years,,....or will it? WARNING: This is a rambling blog. I'll try to get to the point. I write how I talk, I don't like it but it's part of who I am...anyways let me start a new paragraph.

The gossip bench sparked some creative thoughts, first I'm going to make a Circa Gossip Bench so stay tuned but also I'm going to explore the Circa Bench. I've researched benches and these are some of my favorites.

The ultimate gossip bench!

COOL!

I am what I am bench.

Artsy bench.

This one looks like a Circa ripoff....I like it though. Anyways plenty of inspiration out there I wish I could start one right now, all in good time. All this because a gossip table cried out to me....who would have thought.

Well I've taken enough of your time, till next week. Thanks for putting up with me and remember to worship the sun because if it wasn't for the sun it would be DAMP, DARK, and COLD!!

Peace,
Scott

" If opportunity does not knock build a door." Milton Berle

Japan's Tree of Life

First and foremost our hearts go out to Japan and all its people.


Sorry this post is late, world events and getting the keys to Robin and I's store was taking much of our time. The official name of the place is
CIRCA: Vintage Wares and Chairs!!! Stay tuned for the April opening We'll need all your help!!

As most of you know the store is up in Amesbury Mass. one town shy of New Hampshire. ( that means all my friends in N.H are mandated to show up at the store sometime and say hello!!) Amesbury is a great fit for something like this, it feels right!!! The Pow-Wow river runs right through town not the Parker River that I stated before. (sorry) But really how many towns have a raging river running through it?......That's cool!!!

The title quote is from my buddy Milton. It's easily one of my most favorite quotes of all time!! So here's a little Milton Berle Tribute

Milton had a long life and certainly built many doors, he is a hero of mine.

Milton Berle got his start in silent film, and went onto a career in vaudeville, musicals, movies and television. As the host of the variety show, Texaco Star Theatre, from 1948-56, Bearle helped make television a fixture of the American family. Acclaimed for his dramatic acting as well as his humor, Berle made guest appearances on television into his nineties. He died in 2002.........Milton is responsble for much success and he not only did it with a smile but gave a smile to many. :)


Thank you all, you're the best!!
Peace,
Scott

" My interest is in the future because I am going to spend the rest of my life there." Charles F. Kettering

The journey continues........It has been decided the next stop on the Circa Chairs whirlwind tour will bring my chairs to Amesbury, Massachusetts. Robin and I will open a store / gallery on Market Street. The store will feature Circa Chairs and also sell vintage goods. Robin will run this endeavor and I will give her any support she needs.

We have gotten to know the fine town of Amesbury over the last couple of weeks and see ourselves as a great fit. It, however will not be without it's challenges, it seems Amesbury is a bedroom community and hardly any of the 12,000 residents shop in town despite having a quaint historic 100 store downtown. The many business people we talked to are very much aware of this fact and have begun retraining it's residents of the benefits of supporting their town, we will join them in this retraining.

Amesbury has always played second fiddle to Newburyport, a thriving seaside marketplace that is hard to find a vacant store let alone afford one, so we go to Amesbury. We talked to many business people in town and found them all to be very honest,hardworking and fabulous people beyond our wildest dreams.

Amesbury also hosts a thriving art community with countless studio space. The town is beautiful, historic, with great people and also has The Parker river running right through it's downtown. Carefully layed out brick paths around the raging river is truly something to see.

River, Art, History, Great People, that's where Circa Chairs belong!

The store consists of three seprate rooms two of which are in the front on a busy street with plenty of display windows that will be lit at night. The commute is a negative from our Beverly home it will take 45 minutes to get there and with gas prices on the rise will not be cheap or enjoyable.We will overcome this obstacle by limiting days of operation. One thing about the commute is certain and is not easily explained is that the drive home always seems shorter than the ride there.

So come Saturday April 9th the tentative opening day, I hope to see you there. I will be updating you as we go along. Robin and I are very excited about this endeavor and are glad you're coming along for the ride.

Thank you for your continued support.
Have a great week. Peace,
Scott

" Each person is born to one possession which outvalues all his others--his last breath." Mark Twain

A man came into the gallery to view my chairs. He said " I like your chairs' I am also a furniture maker. I make fine cabinetry." I was intriqued, tell me more. He went on to state that the only criticism he has for me was the fact that my chairs were priced too low and how can I expect people to value my work if I don't put a high price on it.

Now this is not a new comment for me I've had this conversation with many of my woodworking peers over the years but that's not to say it doesn't strike a nerve everytime it comes up. I fully understand the general logic, it's simple. Value your work and others will value it.

If I could control the buyers feelings for purchasing one of my chairs I would only have to sell one, because I value every chair and every chair is priceless to me. Striving everyday to be as real with this art chair business as possible, one's price cannot only reflect the makers perception but by the bigger picture; Reality 101

Price is defined in the following ways; makers value, economic conditions, enviromental conditions, overhead costs, gallery commissions ect, ect, ect. So if my price is too low but you love the quality of the workmanship, the style of the design and have the perfect place for it in your home but are struggling to purchase the chair because it's price is too low I say stop worrying about the price because I no longer want to sell my low priced fine chair to you........Good Day!

Now that I've got that off my chest let's talk about the new chairs I made this week. These are the first chairs in more than a month. It's not easy going from four chairs per week to two a month but I've got to eat!

This one I call "Silent Scream". Quite a departure from my other chairs but that was my objective. I am pleased with the outcome, it is priced at $475.00

I love this one, I call it " Orange Poppy" it's youthful spirit trancends loud and clear. I put it in the gallery window and within one hour stopped four people in thier tracks. Already a win in my eyes. I priced it at $375.00 knowing it was a great deal.

Thank you so for following me, see you next Sunday.
Peace,
Scott

" There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. That will be the beginning." Louis L'amour...MINGO SHOW RUNS THROUGH MARCH!!!!!

I am pleased to announce the "Circa Chair First 100" show at Mingo Gallery in Beverly Ma. will continue through March! Josh at the gallery reports that a steady flow of people are coming through to view the chairs every week. Due to the sluggish economy and the bitter winter,sales have been off. Hoping that the economy is showing some life and winter becoming spring, I am optimistic. I would like to bring back the fresh magic of opening night.

I would like as many people to view the chairs as possible in the month of March. As a gift of your support I will be giving one of my prized chairs away at the end of March. You must however go down to Mingo Tues.-Fri. 10:00 to 5:00 or Saturdays from 10:00 to 4:00 to sign up for the chance to win.......so come on down, and if you already have been,come on down again!!

I have much promo work to do so this will be it for this week, thank you so much for your support and to all my followers that can't make it due to distance I know your there in spirit so thank you!!

Peace,
Scott

" How beautiful is youth! how bright it gleams With its illusions, aspirations, dreams!" Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

My youngest daughter Sasha turned 21 years of age.I made her a very special chair called The Architect. The design was inspired by two of our favorite architects and also Sasha's many design models. Check out the work of the two: Frank Gehry and Santiago Calatrava both are very special architects.

Sasha seemed pleased!

We gave her a card that read:

" Live with intention.

Walk to the edge.

Practice wellness.

Play with abandon.

Laugh.

Choose with no regret.

Continue to learn.

Appreciate your friends.

Do what you love.

Live as if this is all there is."

Mary Anne Radmacher

Now both Kelly and Sasha have a Circa chair. Two very different chairs for two very different young ladies. Robin and I are very proud of them!!

Trade me a piece of fine art for a Circa chair. Trading value is the lowest value your willing to part with your art and I do the same with my chairs, if interested please e-mail Scott at circachairs
Last weeks chair is still available, I also have another beauty for you this week.

This chair is another small one: 26 inches high x 16 inches wide, 16 inches deep. It's legs and back are made out of Californian Manzanita with end grained cherry seat. Trading value is $350.00. Let's trade!!!

Well that's it for now, see you Sunday and thank you for following,
Scott