This set of four chairs were built together start to finish, with all lumber rived from a single tree harvest at Franklin Chthonics in Franklin, N.Y. The wood is white ash, with machine-cut ash splint seats and a shopmade oil varnish finish.

This chair design is based on Jennie Alexander’s famous post-and-rung chairs, with some variations in geometry and scale. The back posts are splayed further outwards for a deeper back geometry, and the seat height is lowered for a different seating, better suited to reclining.

All parts of the chair were rived and hewn by hand, with minimal assistance from machinery. The rungs were kiln-dried to 0% moisture content and the tenons are interlocked, providing a very durable construction.

Each chair has its individual quirks, as any does, but the set matches beautifully. The individual quality of each only accentuate their presence as a set, and show the evidence of their being handmade. This set of four went to the same customer.

This was my first time weaving a seat with ash splints – I’m interested in continually trying new techniques and sources for materials. These ash splints are easy to weave, inexpensive and readily available – a good formula for sustainable production.