" 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

A Circa Chairs for your Art !!!

"The word VALUE....has two different meanings, and sometimes expresses the utility of some particular object, and sometimes the power of purchasing other goods which the possession of that object conveys. The one may be called " value in use"; the other, "value in exchange." " Adam Smith(1723-1790)


THE GREAT ART EXCHANGE

I WANT YOUR FINE ART, TRADE ME FOR A CIRCA CHAIR!

I WOULD LIKE TO TRADE SOME OF MY CHAIRS FOR OTHER FINE ART OF EQUAL VALUE. THE REASON BEING MY WIFE ROBIN AND I ARE GOING TO OPEN UP A FINE ART & ANTIQUES SHOP AND WOULD LIKE TO OFFER PIECES OF ART TO COMPLIMENT MY CHAIRS. I AM ALSO INTERESTED IN GETTING MY CHAIRS IN GOOD HOMES AND WHAT BETTER HOMES THAN OTHER ARTIST'S HOMES. I HOPE TO OFFER FOR TRADE 1 OR 2 CHAIRS PER WEEK. VALUE OF TRADE SHOULD BE THE LOWEST VALUE YOU'RE WILLING TO PART WITH FOR YOUR ART AS I WILL BE DOING THE SAME.

I AM VERY INTERESTED IN THE POSSIBILITIES OF GETTING MY CHAIRS ALL OVER THE WORLD, SO IF WE CAN'T TRADE ART IN PERSON BECAUSE OF DISTANCE LET'S WORK ON DELIVERY COSTS AND WE WILL FIND A FEASABLE WAY TO MAKE AN EXCHANGE.

I AM VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS ART FOR ART EXCHANGE. SO FELLOW ARTISTS, DO YOU WANT A CIRCA CHAIR??? WHAT WILL YOU GIVE ME FOR IT?? LET'S SPREAD SOME ART AROUND!!!

IF YOU'RE INTERESTED PLEASE E-MAIL SCOTT MULCAHEY AT http://circachairs@yahoo.com AND MAKE IT HAPPEN!!!

MY FIRST CHAIR UP FOR TRADE IS #37. THIS IS AN EARLY CIRCA CHAIR. I MADE IT IN 2007. MORE SCULPTURE THAN FUNCTION IT'S A BEAUTY! IT IS PLENTY STRONG ENOUGH FOR AN ADULT SIT BUT YOU MUST LEARN THE BALANCE POINT FOR IT TO HOLD YOU UP.

THE BACK IS MADE OUT OF AMERICAN HORNBEAM A WOOD VERY RARELY USED IN FURNITURE BECAUSE IT IS EXTREMELY HARD AND VERY DIFFICULT TO WORK. THE SEAT IS PART CHERRY AND PART MAPLE END GRAIN WITH A WEDGE OF AFRICAN WENGE. THE FRONT LEG IS LIVE ROCK MAPLE.

IT'S A SMALL CHAIR 32.5 INCHES TALL 16 INCHES WIDE AND 17 INCHES DEEP. THIS CHAIR HAS BEEN IN STORAGE FOR YEARS AND HAS NEVER BEEN PUBLICLY DISPLAYED. THE TRADE VALUE OF #37 NOT INCLUDING SHIPPING IS $300.00. IF YOU WANT TO TRADE AND CAN GIVE ME EQUAL VALUE E-MAIL ME WITH YOUR OFFER AND LET'S TRADE!

I MUST SAY I'VE BEEN LOOKING AND LOVING THIS CHAIR MORE AND MORE EACH DAY. I HOPE THERE IS SOME INTEREST OUT THERE FOR THIS BEAUTY!!

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT, MORE TRADES THIS COMING SUNDAY....STAY TUNED.

PEACE,
SCOTT

The most coveted violin and possibly the most valuable wooden object in the world.

TARISIO'S STRADIVARI by Richard Gordon

IN 1827, A HUNDRED AND ELEVEN YEARS AFTER ANTONIO STRADIVARI MADE THE WORLD'S MOST famous violin, "The Messiah", a tall tattered stranger walked into the Paris shop of the dealer and violinmaker Jean Francois Aldric's. Removing a backpack, he took out six violins. Aldric's eyes bulged; every one was a masterpiece.

" Your name, sir? How came you by these instruments?"
" I am Luigi Tarisio, a carpenter and fiddler from Milan. I travel about doing carpentry and cabinetwork for convents and churches, and when I can I trade my services for unused violins. When I play for festivals or dances I meet players whose instruments need repairs and I exchange new fiddles for violins like these."

Aldric reacted with caution, but Tarisio convinced him he had legal possession and that he knew the value of the instruments, and that he would sell them reasonably. His pockets filled with money, Tarisio returned to Italy where he donned carpenter's clothes, put his tools in a cart, and set off to hunt down the next Stradivari.

Italy was in a period of depression and new makers had sprung up, each claiming their products were better than those of the older makers. This, plus many violin owners' ignorance, worked to Tarisio's advantage, and a few months later he arrived in Paris again with more fine instruments. Dealers exclaimed: " Oooh!" and "Aah!" but each time Tarisio said: " Yes, these are very fine, but nothing like the one I have at home."

For twenty years Tarisio brought violins to Paris, each time mentioning the violin he had at home. The dealers protested: " Talk, talk, how you talk! That violin you have at home is like the Messiah- we always hear about it, but no one ever sees him."

Twenty- seven years after his first visit to Paris, neighbors noticed Tarisio was no longer coming and going. Police broke into the attic residence where they found a workbench, two chairs, a sofa, and a hundred and forty-five violins (including two dozen Stradivarii) violas, cellos,and a double- bass. They also found Tarisio's stiff, fully clothed body lying on the sofa--with the world's most coveted violin, the Messiah Stradivari, clutched to his chest.

Born to humble parents, Luigi Tarisio became the world's greatest collector of violins, saving many of the most prized instruments from the hazards of improper storage, clumsy repairs, regraduations, and revarnishings.

Many musicians consider 'the Messiah' to be the world's most coveted wooden object. Made in 1716 by Antonio Stradivari, it now rests in a closely guarded glass case in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England.

Occasionally a Stradivari violin finds it's way to auction. Bids may start at about a million dollars and rise to a million and a half. Of course, Stradivarii aren't sold by the ounce, but compared to gold they are worth more than two hundred times as much. But 'the Messiah' Stradivari? Money can't buy it. It's unsratched, unused, in mint condition- a virgin violin.

Stradivari seemed reluctant to part with it, and let it hang for years in his workshop without stringing it up. Count Salabue acquired it from Stradivari's heirs and kept it in his collection for sixty years.

Tarisio obtained it from the count's heirs. After Tarisio's death, Vuillaume, the famous French maker, bought it from Tarisio's nephews. From Vuillaume it passed to the Ashmolean Museum.

Made of the finest spruce and figured maple, and finished with a brilliant red varnish, it shines today just the way it did when clutched to the chest of the man who worshiped it--Luigi Tarisio.

This is one of my favorite tales of greatness and value, I hoped you liked it. Come back Wednesday when I outline The Great Art Exchange. Here is a sneak peek at the first Circa chair I'm looking to barter for Art.

Thank you so much for the continued support,
Peace'
Scott