In the beginning....
Yesterday our good friends 'The Stones' joined us for a trip to Hancock Shaker Village. Now we've been there many times before, but I never grow tired of it. I'm not quite sure what it is that draws me the most to the village. The beautiful surrounding landscape?, The exquisite furniture?, The architecture?,The time period?, I don't know, but when I'm there I feel - well, I'm not even sure what I feel, maybe it's a feeling of nostalgia.
I use to work at a living history museum that was from the 1800's. So maybe it reminds me of that time, my friends , and the people I use to work with. I also feel nostalgic when I see certain pieces of furniture and wooden ware, such as this small step stool.
This step stool is probably a reproduction. This one was in the garden shed at the village but you can find them all over the place. If they're not in use then they're hanging on the wall.
This simple step stool always makes me smile, and feel a little nostalgic and proud. You see - this was one of my first woodworking projects ever. At the time I wasn't familiar with the Shakers, nor their furniture. I saw this book titled "101 do-it-yourself projects", by Readers Digest. I wasn't into woodworking yet, but I would sift through the pages of the book constantly.
The pages are full of furniture projects, outdoor projects, and others. In it was a diagram, a picture, and instructions on how to build a shaker step stool, just like the one I saw yesterday at Hancock Shaker Village. The project didn't seem too complicated. Just a few pieces of wood glued and screwed together. At the time I didn't have a skill set in woodworking, but I thought I could make it. And so I did.
I remember being so proud, " I did it" and 'It works"
How awesome. I painted it blue. I'm not sure why, but it looked good. I don't have the stool. I wish I did. I don't know what happened to it. That simple shaker step stool ignited a fire, a passion. maybe I like visiting the village because I feel a sense of pride, of what I've accomplished, and how far my skills of come since the day I made that stool. I still have the book. I still love to sift through it's pages. It gives me the same feeling I feel when I visit the village. I just looked and you can buy one used online for less than a dollar. There are some projects in the book that I still want to build, after all of these years.
The stool I made took only a single eight foot board of 1' x 6" pine to make. It probably cost less than $20 to build today.
I'd give it a try. See if ignites ( or re-kindles ) a fire.
As always - Thanks for following
Be safe and be creative
Best
Steve
