The Robot

A long time ago I found a small piece of scientific equipment that I thought could be made into a robots head. I know, that sounds crazy. Well, I have decided to actually build the thing. It will be a hybrid between a musical instrument, a child's toy and an art object. I have done almost all the work I want to to the head. The neck is almost finished, as if the main body. Although they are not in this picture, I too have gotten some feet together. This is where I am as of the end of 2011.

As you can see from the last photo, I like to keep my workspace nice a messy. 

Fox Mount

Fox mount on walnut salvaged from the Whitmore farm. Thanks Will. Learned a couple things doing the doe mount that I was able to apply here. I think I will make one more wall shoulder mount, then I will be about ready for a full animal. This one still needs some decent photos. 

Random small projects

 This is a piece designed by my friend Tony at Cicada Grove. Cortnie printed them and I did some touch up work; sanding, puttying and linseed oil waxing.

My lady got a box of bones somewhere. She wants to make jewelry out of them so had me drill tiny holes in all of them.

This drawing is not really for anything, I just have not drawn in a while and was kind of getting ashamed of that. I need to practice. I am better than this.

My friend Brendan made a really cool 'magazine' (seems more like an art piece to me) and I was able to contribute a story about a man eating shit. The story is pretty good, but his magazine is great. We have copies for sale at White Rabbit. They are highly recommended.

A Baby's Crib

 A few months ago I decided to build a crib. Somebody actually told me,"there can't be any screws sticking into there, so the baby doesn't get poked..." like had I not been told that I would have built an infant bed of nails.

 I tried to go as traditional with the look as possible. It is oak, pine, birch and poplar. All screws and nails are hidden. I based the size on the size of mattress available.

 Here is a photo half way through the build with Ivy Rose laying in it to show the scale.

In the baby's room with the door on. I think she likes it.

The last step will be the linseed oil, and soon I hope. All in all, I am pretty proud of this piece of furniture. I have never designed anything like this before and feel like it turned out pretty decent. I hope it stays in the family and after my daughter grows up, she uses it for her kids.

White Rabbit

 White Rabbit was started several years ago by Cortnie and me. It was an extremely modest shop, upstairs in the Hall Mall. Looking back it seems like an insane gamble on a half baked idea. Over the years  and hundreds of conversations the vision has become more focused. We moved above the 'Yacht Club' in a 400 square foot room, then into the old 'Fun Zone' space currently occupied by 'Lorenz' (about 700 square feet). We decided to roll the dice and move into a space 2 and a half times bigger. The old drop ceiling and business carpeting are things of the past for White Rabbit. This new space has full height ceilings, and hardwood floors. At this point it is extremely raw and there is 2 months to re-do it.

 This is the old back door for this space. It was decided that we needed a door that was not letting wind, rain and snow in, so it was replace by a steel door. This one had a pretty sweet look, so we decided to frame in the back wall and use it there, as the door to the back room. We also had to close in the 'window'.

 Thanks to some hard work by a lot of folks (Joel Anderson, William Whitmore and Jarrett Mitchell, Cortnie Widen, Phil Maul and Kathy Widen especially), we got it all turned around. This is how it looked right before opening the doors. Shelving is made, floors refinished. new lighting, double dressing rooms, etc etc....

Jarrett Mitchell is a very good friend of mine. He also runs 'Wake Up Iowa City'. Along with Will Whitmore, Jarrett and I built this coffee bar. There were some challenges along the way, but I am excited for how it turned out. Having Iowa City's best coffee shop inside the store I open daily rules!

 A few months into the new spot and the shelves are full of locally made arts and crafts, and we have some fantastic artists displaying in the gallery space. The artwork above the shelving is by Ryan Garbes and Shawn Reed of the band 'Wet Hair'. Shawn also runs Night People Records.

 Once a month we do an art reception for that month's artist. They are generally well attended.

I love the people White Rabbit attracts. With so many artists, writers, printmakers, musicians, seamstresses, etc selling out of the store, the types of people coming in are extremely varied.

Record Shelves

One of the biggest problems for record collectors is shelving. Records are big and heavy. A standard bookshelf is rarely big enough and the shelving available at the big box stores are generally made from cheap particle board. This was a custom piece for Kirk Walther of Iowa City's 'Record Collector', is almost 6 feet long, and hold about 750 LPs. It is 100% furniture grade pine, on hidden casters (so it rolls). I make these in all woods and all sizes. As with everything I build that is for sale, they can be purchased at White Rabbit.

Next Shelf: A custom piece for photographer and friend Bill Adams.

 Bill sent me a photograph of the shelving he was currently using. It was from Ikea and although the overall design was good, like all Ikea furniture, it is cheap particle board and contact paper. He decided to have a version built that looked the same, with a few choice modifications, made of real wood, and WAY overbuilt. Like all my shelving, it will be on casters, so it will roll.

 For both a design choice and a lot of added strength, it is compartmentalized. This piece is 60 inches wide, and about 34 inches tall, and roughly 16 inches deep. Casters and all hardware hidden, as always.

This is where it is at after day one. Still needs a little more sanding, and the back put on it. It also is going to get the standard triple hand waxing. I am pretty excited about this piece so far. I might have to build myself one.

Today I put the back on it, and have been linseed waxing it. Still needs casters, and another coat of wax, then it is out of here.

This is where I am currently at with another custom record shelf. I really like the compartments people are going for. It takes longer, but looks cooler, I think.

The buyer chose to stain this piece 'gunstock'. I normally do not go for stain, but he could not afford to build this out of a dark wood, and considering it is a stain, I dig it. It has several coats of linseed on it now too. After they are dry, I can have my full drum room back. 

'Shut The Box'

'Shut the Box' is one of my favorite ways to pass time with friends. It is perfect enjoyed with some decent beers while listening to good records. This is a prototype for some I am going to make today. It is pine, poplar and mahogany and unlike ones I have built in the past, has a money slot to encourage gambling. Yep, for some reason that makes the game more fun, even if it is just a quarter a game.

On the prototype I stenciled the numbers on and although I have done this in the past, was unhappy with it. I decided to try and hand draw and paint them on. 

 I chose to do the numbering in a cream color I mixed up. The tiles oscillate from mahogany to poplar.

 In this photo the boxes I made are almost complete. Numbers are in, as is the 'leather' bottom pad. They have been sanded and hand waxed. This project (and something a friend, Hayne Davis of Davisound, said to me) really made me rethink staining wood. I feel like if you want a darker wood, use a darker wood. Pine is beautiful just the way it is. Poplar has such a sweet green tint to it. Mahogany is classic wood brown. I love using multiple woods on the same project.

This is the first completed production model, with money slot. When all was said and done I have a couple hours in each one, so with materials, I am working slave labor wages. At least it is a labor of love. I really hope folks dig playing 'Shut the Box' on them half as much as I do.

Doe mount

Doe mount I did this fall (2011). 

It is foam, cotton fabric, acrylic paint, glass eyes, poplar, pine, linseed oil, and pencil. 

I am proud of this piece, and will continue to make my own versions of taxidermy. The photos were taken by Bill Adams.