The Shop Stool Podcast

Today we have another guest on the show, this time a local chair maker from Melbourne, best known for his windsor chairs. He uses both modern and traditional techniques, something I’m looking forward to going deeper into, and I think above all he’s incredibly well known in the woodworking circles of Australia. Say hello to Bern Chandley.

It’s not everyday we get to talk to someone with such an adventurous past so we jumped at the opportunity to have Neil Ferrier tell his story. His business, Discommon, is a leader in the design game and has worked with some major, high profile clients. Neil studied mechanical engineering in Glasgow then moved to the US to continue his studies. There he graduated and got a job working in Advanced Product Development for Oakley in California. Whilst working at Oakley, he started Discommon as his side-hustle, to test his design and production skills on everything from CNC-milled whiskey lowballs and flasks to furniture, wall art, bespoke watches, leather goods and is now pivoting his business to produce protective face masks in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.

By now we’re all aware of the coronavirus outbreak and the devastating affect it’s having on people’s lives. Up until now we’ve steered clear of the topic because it hasn’t impacted us enough to warrant our thoughts. But that all changed this week when Joey announced his business is officially in crisis after the recent lock down in New Zealand. And while this is only one example, it’s just a matter of time before COVID-19 changes how we all interact with local businesses. In this special episode we discuss the future of woodworking in this climate and how small business will look on the other side of this pandemic. It’s not all doom and gloom though, we also celebrate Bryan’s first child, born earlier this week.

This week we go over the best track saws on the market and why you’d buy one, and we also go through our workshop development. As we grow into our spaces, and potentially go into business in them, our requirements change. We discuss our own journeys and the pros and cons of our spaces.

In this episode we discuss the new kitchen island bench that Robin made, as well as Bryan’s role in judging the 2020 Wood Review Student Awards.

One of the biggest challenges in dealing with clients is managing their expectations. We might be professional craftsman but we do still make mistakes. How the mistake is dealt with, and hopefully fixed, is the sign of a great woodworker, but getting the client on board for that journey can be tough.

We're back from a short break and talking about a table delivery that went bad for Joey. Furniture movers...are you better off delivering a piece yourself?

2019 has been a good year for all of us. In this episode we go into some of the highs and lows, and what’s coming up for 2020.

We have the award winning designer, Adam Markowitz on the show! We discuss his strong opinion on the design process, and how important it is for all woodworkers to embrace it. Adam’s pieces have won awards and been used in famous publications, and in this episode he shares his story and passion with us. You may know him for his most popular piece, the Mobius Chair, but he has countless other, one of a kind, gems.

This week we discuss the pros and cons of different workbench designs, and what we prefer in them. After that we get into the recent crediting scandal that hit the maker scene, and end off with one of Joey’s nightmare clients.

What happens when you’ve finished an extra long project and you need to switch gears? Taking your head out of an all consuming project and putting it into something else can be a big step and sometimes you’re burnt out from that project already. In this episode we’re talking about creative burnout and how to keep that work life balance intact.

This week we talk about clients changing their minds on projects (or completely missing important details, as Joey found out) at the last minute. When is it ok to say no to a client, and should something be added to our contracts with them to ensure we don’t end up footing the bill. Whether it’s a last minute design change, or they’d rather have a gloss finish after seeing it in satin, these changes can drastically alter the schedule of a project.

In this episode we welcome Bryan Cush to the show learn about an environmental initiative that he's working on, and how we can all do our part to combat climate change by planting a few more native trees.

This week we talk about steam bending wood.

This week we discuss which is the better tool to have in the shop, as well as a number of other topics.