Though the name of the author escapes me, my earliest woodworking project was based on plans from Van Nuys, Calif., available through Parade magazine; it was a toucan-shaped tie and belt hanger.

Getting into the school wood shop in junior high opened up the world beyond a jigsaw and brace and bits. It can’t be said that I accomplished anything significant until high school, when I attempted a project from another set of plans, the Thomas Wooden Clock. It ran, sort of. There were no laser-cut parts in those days. The clock did generate a small grant from the regional Industrial Arts Fair. Applying the grant to an education in my intended career as a teacher, I learned I was not cut out to be an instructor in the formal sense. My education continued with real-world experience working with a humble finish carpenter. Ben could do quality work with less effort than mortals could do questionable work.

I think the first Fine Woodworking magazine I saw was issue #4. With that came the realization that “there’s the life for me.” I had to figure out how to beam myself into that alternate universe.

Getting inside from Iowa winters, I found a job in an architectural millworks, gradually moving from box-making to fabricating fixtures for banks and churches. We made these pieces from plans we were sure had been drawn by individuals who had never built anything. It was a satisfying challenge to transform the drawings into solid objects, but few of those objects were themselves satisfying.

Fine Woodworking had replaced the fantasy associated with the Sears Christmas catalog. I was astounded to see the ad for a school run by a man who was featured in the first issue that I saw, James Krenov. Now here was something new, working with an idea rather than measured plans. My first project at the school was a jewelry box which had the feel of some sort of middle-ages reliquary. One of the instructors, Creighton Hoke, asked if I knew of Gimson and the Barnsleys. New worlds continued to reveal themselves. The simple honesty and sense of permanence of that style of furniture was appealing. Further investigation led to discovering the grace of the work done by Greene and Greene in California.

To a degree, my appreciation of furniture periods was chronological; I became subject to the allure of Deco furniture. The streamlined simplicity seemed a logical progression from the earlier stalwart form.

None of the things I’ve built are quite “in the style” of anything, but the belief in the value of working with care in the creation of honest objects is part of all I have done. And I owe that, in part, to discovering Fine Woodworking magazine so many years ago.

Here are a few articles that resonate with me.

​ David Welter​

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	Video: Furniture Design Step by Step with Mike Pekovich Join FWW creative director Michael Pekovich, for a webinar on his design process. Michael Pekovich
	James Krenov, Master of the Handmade He delivers a message of intimacy and excellence in furniture, in print and in person Jonathan Binzen
	Uncommon Arts & Crafts Going beyond Stickley to uncover the riches of a many-faceted movement Jonathan Binzen
	Design: Is it a learnable skill? Designing vs. building, the creative vs. the practical—there are two distinct aspects to building furniture, and simply because you have technical skill doesn’t mean you naturally have a talent for design Anissa Kapsales
	Develop Your Own Designs A step-by-step process unlocks your creativity Michael Fortune
	A Short History of Styles and Forms Furniture makers and designers have set new trends across continents and centuries that have stuck with us in the modern age. Norman L. Vandal