T-Shirts, Anyone?

Have you noticed that there is a serious lack of really good woodworking t-shirts out there? Woodworking is pretty much my number one hobby, as well as my profession, so I really like thinking about it, dreaming about it, reading about it, and talking about it.  I wear a lot of t-shirts myself and I am easily entertained by clever wit on a shirt, whether on myself or others.  Combine those two loves--woodworking and cool t-shirts--and I really need some new threads.  Unable to find much of anything that amuses me, we've decided we might have to make our own.

So here are some designs we've come up with.  We'd like to actually print them and make them available for purchase online and at The Woodworking Shows, but we need to know if anyone else likes them as much as we do.

That's where you, reader, come in to the picture.  Glance through the designs if you will and give us some feedback.  Are any of these shirts you would actually buy for yourself or for gifts for others?  Which ones do you like most?  Would you pay $15, $18 or even $20 for one of these babies?  They would all be professionally screen-printed on a high-quality 100% cotton shirt.  The designs shown here would be printed on the front chest area, with the CSFW logo and website, fairly smallish, on the upper back of the shirt.  Let us know your thoughts.  If enough people are interested, we might just go for it.

Behold, the shirts (you can click on the images to enlarge them a bit):

"Three Wishes"

If you had a genie in a bottle, what would you wish for?  Well, duh, that's a no-brainer.  The shirt reads, "1. tools  2. wood  3. time"

"Mandatory Waiting Period"

Woodworkers don't come stumbling into bed finally because they are tired of working on their project.  They come because there is nothing more they can do until the glue dries.  The shirt reads, "Waiting for Glue-Up"    

"Occupational Hazard"

Hey, at least all the fingers are still there.  That's more than I can say for some of my woodworking buddies.  The caption simply reads, "woodworker"

"Chairman"

I've always wanted to have a title after my name.  I make chairs.  Out of boards.  That will work.  The shirt reads, "ChairMan of the Board."

"Represent"  

Respect the beauty of the tree.  Do it proud.  Make something amazing from its lumber.  Let that gorgeous grain shine.  Show the world.  It's the least you can do for the tree.  The caption reads, "re.present"

"Going Green"

Reduce, reuse, recycle.  Lather, rinse, repeat.  You know the routine by now.  So be a good little steward of the earth's resources and let no beautiful lumber go to waste.  The shirt reads, "I recycle trees."

"Amber Waves of Grain"

Sing it with me...Oh, beautiful for figured wood...  Sorry, it's just that when someone mentions grain, my first thought is generally about quilted maple or waterfall bubinga, not fields of wheat.  I mean no disrespect to the patriotic song.  The caption says, "Waves of Grain"

"Chronic Forgetfulness"

How many times do I have to remind you to put that apron on and protect your clothing?  That's the third shirt you've ruined this week!  Or something to that effect.  The shirt reads, "  Oops, forgot my shop apron again."

"Book Match"

This shirt has nothing to do with a match book, which is something you might employ to rid your shop of the odd bits of scrap you can't find any other use for.  It also has nothing to do with wood burning or burning books.  The caption says, "(No, not book burning)"

"I (heart) Chatoyance"

This one vocabulary word sets the serious woodworker apart from his/her casual counterparts.  If you don't know what it means, look it up.  You already love chatoyance--I guarantee it--you just might not have know what it meant before. 

"Fencing"

I'm always encouraging my students to move beyond traditional fences and learn to do some free-hand work.  It expands the horizons.  Wide-open spaces and all that.  I think I feel a song coming on.  The shirt reads, "Don't fence me in"

"Power Corrupts"

It's true, isn't it?  What happened to you, deep in your soul, the first time you got behind the wheel of a really cool power tool?  Were you ever the same again?  I don't think so.  After all, you are now sitting here reading descriptions of woodworking shirts.  Enough said.  The caption says simply, "Power Corrupts"

"Nice Figure"

What?  I was talking about woodgrain!  What were YOU thinking about?  Shame on you!  We chose not to have an image with this one, as there are so many to choose from.  We'll let you use your imagination.  The shirt reads, "Nice figure"

So anyway, we need to know your thoughts.  Are these shirts amusing only to us and no one else would ever want to buy them?  That would be good to know before we go out and print a gajillion of them--or even twenty.  Please leave a comment here, or on our official Facebook page, or reach us via Twitter (@chidwickschool).  You could also drop an email to andy@chidwickschool.com or even give me a phone call, 406-546-7130.  Tell your friends about these shirts, too, so we can hear their thoughts also.  We're not professional shirt designers, just avid woodworkers, so we could really use a bunch of feedback here.   

Thanks, and happy sawdust.

Finally--Online Registration and Payment!

Hi there.  We've been having some trouble with our regular website lately, so we are adding a few features here that really belong over there.  Does that make sense?  I hope so.

On our regular Chidwick School of Fine Woodworking website, you can find all sorts of information about who we are, what kinds of classes we offer, what the CSFW experience is like and how it is unique among woodworking schools.  What you can't find there, however, is a simple online registration form or a way to make a secure payment for a class.  For now, those things are here, in the side bar.  Scroll down and you will find all kinds of goodies.

We hope to see you out here at our school in Montana one of these days for an unforgettable woodworking vacation!  

Ever Wish You Could Pet a Grizzly?

Really nicely done video by the Montana Tourism folks.  Shows off the beauty the state well and makes me wish I had a pet grizzly named Brutus who likes to be scratched behind the ears.


Montana Stories: Casey Anderson from Montana Office of Tourism on Vimeo.

So Much To Do...

So, we leave for our time with The Woodworking Shows in only a few days, but I am spending huge blocks of time figuring out how to better market our business through Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, LinkedIn, Trip Advisor and a variety of other social media sites.  When our students get here to the school, they have a great time and an excellent experience all around, but getting them here--at least until we have built up a longer-term reputation in the industry--has proven to be a challenge.  Thus the social media push.

Which brings me to the reason for this post...What social media sites (like the ones I just listed above) do you use regularly?  Are you a Facebooker?  Are we officially 'friends?'  Do you Tweet?  Would you like it if I became one of your stalkers...er, ahem, I mean 'followers?'  Do you even bother with blogs when you are researching a product, brand, organization, etc.?  Do you use LinkedIn?  Is it important to you?  How about Trip Advisor?  Do you write reviews?  Do you read them?  Are there other sites that I should be paying more attention to that I didn't even mention here?

I'm curious, and would love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks.

Oh, and if we're not officially 'friends' and you'd like to be, or if I'm not currently stalking...I mean following you on Twitter and you'd like me to (and maybe you'd like to follow me, too), then please mention that, along with whatever cool names you've chosen for yourself, in a comment here or in a private message.  Thanks.

That's Going to Leave a Mark...

Ouch!  This is what can happen when a table saw kicks back.  Yikes.  If you get queasy easily, you may want to skip this one.

http://lumberjocks.com/PocketHole69/blog/18782

Fly Fishing on the Bitterroot River Montana by Carl Mann

Just in case you need a break from making sawdust while you're taking a class at Chidwick School of Fine Woodworking...

The Rebirth of a Blog

I've had this blog for quite a few years now, mostly just because I liked the name, but now I think it's time to actually do something with it.  I've got so much to tell you all about (next year's class schedule, some new pieces of furniture I'm working on, my fun new Women In Woodworking class, etc.), but first I have to get ready to take this show on the road.

Yes, once again, Chidwick School of Fine Woodworking is going to be at some of The Woodworking Shows.  I will be teaching two different seminars: "Introduction to Sculptural Woodworking" and "Chair-building Techniques for the Beginner."  We hit the road next week for the Sacramento show (Nov. 5-7) and then head back north for the Portland show (Nov. 12-14).  We'll do some sightseeing along the way with the family, taking in the Redwoods, Oregon Caves and the Oregon coast; and we'll catch up with a lot of extended family and friends, as well.

One of the coolest parts of my job is that, after spending a week or two in the shop with them, my students and their spouses become my family's friends.  When we travel to the shows like this, we actually have a hard time seeing everyone!  What a great problem to have!  So, we look forward to seeing many of you in the coming weeks--you know who you are.  So to all my former student/friends in the Sacramento or Portland areas, if we don't already have plans to get together outside of the show this time, then please at least come see us at our booth.  We'd love to see you again.

And for those of you I've yet to meet, I look forward to someday meeting you, too.  Come see us at the shows.  Better yet, come to CSFW and let us treat you to some fine Montana hospitality while you make something beautiful.

Welcome to the Bitterroot Valley