Chair as Art

Two years ago we dropped into Gummel Chairworks in Castine, Maine while we were on vacation. We were spending a few days in Castine and I had looked up a few local places that we might want to see while we were there. It's a very small town on the end of a peninsula, in other words, a long way from anywhere. We were there to relax and take life easy so one afternoon we rode out to Gummel's. Mr. and Mrs. Gummel were so nice and spent a great deal of time explaining the whole process of making a chair.

We picked out a Nantucket Fanback and put down a deposit. Mr. Gummel said it would take about a year and our plan was to pick it up ourselves during a little mini-vacation. Plans have a tendency to go astray, don't they? Well, long story short, we picked up the chair at our local FedEx Freight depot last week.

The chair is a very, very dark green with a barn red undercoat. It's all done with milk paint and has a somewhat matte finish that shines with use. As the green overcoat wears the barn red shows through. The under side of the seat is branded with the M & E Gummel Chairworks brand.

We feel so privileged to own this beautiful piece of handmade furniture. It sits comfortably and is very easy on the back. We'll be using it as an occasional chair and possibly as a desk chair. Go visit the site and take a look at the wonderful chairs and tables.