For the past few weeks I have been squirreled away in my shop, preparing for the Canadian Furniture Show to be held at the International Convention Centre in Mississauga, Ontario. My first trade show, I registered at the last minute before I knew what I was getting myself into but, in for a penny, in for a pound. I have managed to make a selection of stools for display and have re-Christened the entire line the Meaford Collection, with each stool named after a community or geographic point of interest within the Municipality of Meaford.
The stools now include The Meaford – for which I am still searching for some apple wood to make the seats, instead of cherry, the Balaclava, a sturdy stable stool perfect for the moon shining past of that hamlet, the Leith, with its hefty pine made famous by Leith’s most famous son, the artist Tom Thompson, the Woodford perch stool, a quirky but highly effective item honouring the place first settled by another unusual but successful group, the Quakers, the Bighead split seat stool, reminiscent of the Bighead river and river valley, and finally the Irish Block, patterned on the Irish three legged chair, the sligo / taun.
Each and every stool is founded on the basic principles that made the Windsor chair the hallmark of comfort and quality for over two centuries: a highly dished “tractor” seat and wedged tapered seat tenons, meaning the stools will always be a joy to use and the joinery will never fall apart from use.
If nothing else, this will be a learning experience, but I am indeed hoping to turn a profit before it all comes to an end.
