" 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