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As subscribers to our magazine, you see a part of what we do every day—you’re holding it in your hands. What you don’t see is all of the behind-the-scenes stuff. We operate in two month cycles; we send an issue to the printer (and you) every two months. Between being in the shop, sitting at my computer writing articles, or being in front of a camera for video work, I’m generally on the road with our contributing writers, shooting photos of projects. My goal is to keep this magazine filled with woodworkers from all over the US (and world).
Earlier this month, the three full-time Popular Woodworking staff (Collin, Danielle, and myself) met up in central Ohio for Danielle’s wedding. It was one of the most beautiful weddings I’ve been to, and I wish that we could have stayed longer. Alas, Collin and I had to jump on the road and make a seven-hour drive to central Virginia for a three-day photo shoot. There, we met up at the Alexander Brothers shop (and lumberyard) to shoot several projects with Shea Alexander and Albert Kline. Shea makes his living running a lumber yard with his brothers and building custom furniture. Albert lives in DC and works as an economist by day, marquetry savant by night.
Over the three days, Collin, Shea, Albert, and myself shot a total of six magazine features, ranging from carving to marquetry, stools, and boxes. The amount of talent that I was surrounded by in those three days was humbling to say the least. Generally, I can handle a photoshoot by myself. But, having Collin on hand allowed us to pack that much more into those three days, as well as the opportunity to shoot a bit of video while we were there. Keep an eye out for that—we’ll align the projects in the magazine with the release of the videos on the website.
Speaking of other duties, earlier this month we concluded our first (relaunch) of Woodworking In America. I think it exceeded all of our expectations, and we’ve already started planning for our fall 2025 Woodworking in America. I met many of you there, and to those that were able to make it, I thank you. To those that couldn’t —I hope you can next year. I’ll do my best to keep the magazine audience privy of our plans, but also keep an eye on our website (and emails) for info on that when it comes out. Another great way to keep in touch with what’s going on is our podcast. News flash—myself and the team at Woodsmith do a weekly podcast, and have for several years now. It’s basically a bunch of us woodworking nerds talking about things related to what we’re working on, with a healthy serving of dry, eye-rolling humor. It’s terrible. You should listen. Cheers!
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.
