The Shop Stool Podcast

A couple weeks back Joey completed a massive project; building and installing 2 spiral staircases. In this episodes we go into the project, from design to fit out and talk about the challenges. If you haven’t already, head over to Joey’s Instagram page to see the pictures.

In this episode we meet Arthur Seigneur, a world renowned furniture maker specialising in the art of straw marquetry.

In this episode we meet Andy Mineur, the owner of Urban Salvage in Melbourne. He’s an incredibly passionate timber merchant, specialising in recycled products. We go through the process of salvaging wood from demolished houses in and around Victoria, and some of the challenges facing the upcycling industry.

Welcome to season 2 of The Shop Stool Podcast, a podcast for woodworkers and the maker community in general. Hosted by Robin Lewis (RobinLewisMakes), Joey Chalk (King Post Timber Works), and Bryan Cush (Sawdust Bureau). It’s been just over a month since our last episode and we’re here to tell you why. We also get into Joey’s curved staircase, a behemoth of a project. It’s had some client challenges, as well as the practicality issues of building 2 staircases in a woodworking workshop. It’s good to be back after a short break.

Tonight we’re talking to an award winning craftsman from Melbourne. He specialises in eucalypts, creating some amazing pieces from ancient red gum that was around during the last ice age. Welcome to the show, Damien Wright.

Tonight’s guest is another woodworker from Tasmanian, and his focus is on furniture and lighting. And while that’s a particular specialty that we haven’t had on the show before, he’s also the first legally blind woodworker we’ve spoken to. His awards list is pretty impressive and his pieces are on display around the world. It’s an absolute pleasure to welcome Duncan Meerding to the show.

Well here we are again, talking about COVID-19. Unfortunately the coronavirus pandemic has hit New Zealand and Australia for a second time and it’s affecting us all very differently. Bryan’s working from home, Joey can’t get on site, and Robin’s waiting for it to hit Queensland any day now.

This week we had a chat with Laura McCusker from Tasmania. She’s been making furniture, officially, since 1996, and has piled on the awards in that time. She’s worked on some amazing pieces that are still being sought after today. We go into some of her history, her techniques, and what it’s like being a wood worker in Tasmania.

It’s just the 3 of us this week, talking about whatever came to mind. That included another horror client for Joey and a recent controversy surrounding a well-known maker. We ask the question; should ethics impact what you’re charging a client? If the client’s willing to pay more than your perception of the value, are you at fault for making that extra money?

This week we spoke to a propmaker from Melbourne, the one and only Nick Pledge. He’s THE guy in Australia when it comes to props, and he’s worked on some high profile films because of it; Ghost Rider, Where The Wild Things Are, and The Pacific, to name a few. He’s also worked with a number of large brands, and in this episode he talks us through what it means to be a propmaker and how these large projects work.

Jem is a pretty rad guy. He’s one half of Like Butter, a design and fabrication operation in Melbourne, Victoria. They make a range of products, mostly focussing on CNC work. We had a chat to Jem about how the business grew and how they’ve managed to innovate in their space to become industry leaders. He also once set fire to a CNC machine.

It’s been a long time since we talked about our current projects. Joey’s back in the swing of things with some interesting new jobs, Bryan’s just finished a chest of drawers, and Robin’s sitting at his new round dining table. We go through some of the hurdles and successes.

We have out first knife maker on the show, Aidan from Cut Throat Knives, based in Melbourne. The knives coming out of his workshop are nothing short of spectacular and he has some amazing thoughts on the making process and our role as craftsman.

Welcome to season 2 of The Shop Stool Podcast, a podcast for woodworkers and the maker community in general. Hosted by Robin Lewis (RobinLewisMakes), Joey Chalk (King Post Timber Works), and Bryan Cush (Sawdust Bureau). Today we talk to Audi and Ivy, 2 incredibly talented makers from Indiana in the US. They share their story of how they grew from a needs must environment, where everything was learned on the fly for a particular task, to now running a successful business creating high-end furniture. Check out their Instagram feed for more of their amazing pieces.

With the COVID-19 pandemic losing steam in many parts of the world, Australia and New Zealand included, Joey and Bryan are heading back to their workshops. This week we discuss what the next few months might look like. We also talk about an interesting table design that Robin’s working on. It started as a specific idea but got reworked into the very odd design it is today.