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Congratulations to Randy Klein and his family for their portrayal of Norm Abram at all phases of his life, from a small mischievous boy up to a full-grown bearded woman (just kidding about that, Mr. Abram).
The Kleins won via universal acclaim for several reasons: Convincing an entire family to do something this crazy, and the looks on the kids’ faces. We suspect the kids are all up to no good and we’re glad to see safety glass on the whole lot.
The Kleins win a “New Yankee Workshop” coffee mug that is autographed by Norm Abram himself. Abram signed the mug for Publisher Steve Shanesy. Randy Klein has three choices: keep the mug as-is, rub off Steve’s name or Randy can change his name to “Steve.” We’re also going to throw in a two-year subscription to either Popular Woodworking or Woodworking Magazine , just because we can.
We’ve posted some of our other favorites in a Flickr slideshow, which you can view here. Below are some of our favorite runners-up:
OK, we’re suckers for kids dressed like Norm.
Three generations of Norm! Excellent.
This footwear isn’t so good for the shop , no steel toes.
– Christopher Schwarz
Here are some supplies and tools we find essential in our everyday work around the shop. We may receive a commission from sales referred by our links; however, we have carefully selected these products for their usefulness and quality.
I’d like a set of those legs on my workbench or kitchen table or …..just about anywhere and everywhere 🙂
Dusty56
My son and I are the first picture in the "runners up." Our plans for Halloween changed as soon as I heard about the contest. What a great idea! The chest of the drawers he is sitting on is actually my first "Norm project" I made.
I am disappointed my son won’t be able to grow up watching Norm on Saturday afternoons as I did with my dad. I hope to instill in him the love of working with your hands and creating something out of what used to be a tree!
About that last woodworker-where do I get a full size poster to hang on the shop wall next to my collectors’ Rigid Tool Calender ?
_John
I could say something else… but I really want to say what my first thought was.
She looks so beautiful…
I think the last one dressed up as Norm-A Valley. Either way, winner. Ladies with tools always win. Hands down. Ima miss Norm Abrams. I wish I’d have known about this contest. My friends dad looks like him, without trying!
I took a furniture building class in college with a girl that wore high heels in the shop, they did not stop her from doing good work. And there is Anything I Can Do’s Mag Ruffman, I think she did most those shows in skirts and heeled boots.
Brent
I don’t think Norm’s legs ever looked as good as the last pic.
I have a whole collection of Norm shirts that I used to wear in my shop during the fall/winter when we lived in Northern Virginia but since moving to SoFla, they just hang in the clothes closet and look sad :-(( As for the photos, I congratulate the Klein family. They look grest but I’ll take the last one with or without steel toes
:-)))
All these are great, but I’d love to meet a woman who looks as good in a flannel shirt as the last one and is handy in the shop.
But Megan Fitz wears open toed sandals in the workshop, we have seen photos of her drilling nd even seen videos of her dancing on her workbench.
What’s with all of the nail guns? Does he use those often? I never noticed.
I think the last one can nail my boards any day!
If Norm did a show in a skirt I will bet my Delta cabinet saw that he didn’t shave his legs and his legs didn’t look nearly as good.
Norm, I’m going to miss The New Yankee shop series but I know that after time you run out of show scripts.
Good Luck.
Or he could give the mug to one of the others in the photo – surely one of them is called Steve.
It was "Dress Like Norm Abram" not "Norm Abram’s Dress"… right?
What a hoot though with the young ones.
At first, I thought it was a family of serial killers. I must have watched American Psycho one too many times. As for that last photo… I don’t remember what episode Ambram wore 3 three inch heels in. And Norm’s skirt was always way longer than that.
chris
I have to assume that the woodworker in the last photo was having trouble getting over her plane due to a too high workbench…
I, too was strangely drawn to the last photo. Is that a Grex pin-nailer? Rrrrgh!
Well done to the Kleins, top effort, that family foto will spend year on the mantlepiece no doubt! As for that last entry, I didn’t really think about the footwear…