It Takes a Village

There's an incredible amount of work that goes into putting on a Lie-Nielsen Hand Tool Event. From cleaning, to the crate of wares arriving the week before 

- the set-up is amazing. Let's just say hours and hours of preparation is needed. 

We hung the sign the morning of the event, and said a silent prayer to the rain gods, to keep the rain at bay.  

Photos of all of our past students greeted the visitors as they walking into the lobby.

Kevin from Glen Drake Toolworks arrived and set up fairly quickly, 

Planemaker Juan Vergara 

and Dennis Patchett, a local carver also set up shop, sharing some very interesting techniques and philosophies. 

Everything seemed perfect... the tool displays

the sharpening station... 

The staff was helpful and shared a ton of techniques and information about the tools. 

Hand tool expert and cashier extraordinaire Anne Briggs Bohnett brightened the shop with her huge smile and personality. 

She was instantly recognized by several visitors - her Instagram feed is a very popular destination for many woodworkers! Check out her website too!

She wrote a terrific article about dovetails for Lee Valley. Here's a link...

I started working on my dresser carving, doing some detail sanding, and it quickly became a community effort...

 Beth sat down and grabbed a piece of sandpaper. (You have to love people who roll up their sleeves and help with sanding!)

Speaking of Beth, she brought in the AMAZING Brian Boggs inspired chair that she recently built. Honestly, her work is insanely good - to read more about the chair, check out this link. 

Like last year, we held a raffle for some cool things - Rick won a free woodworking class, Kean won some Bessey clamps, Esther won a sandpaper setup - a dispenser and two rolls of paper, and Beth won a nice assortment of cutting boards, which was ironic because that is EXACTLY what she wanted to win. 

And no... the raffle drawing wasn't fixed - Beth's just lucky that way! 

All in all, the attendance seemed to be a bit higher than last year, but I think sales were a bit sluggish. That's understandable; last year people made considerable purchases for their tool arsenal. This year, they were just adding a piece or two to compliment what they already owned. Will Lie-Neilsen return? I sure hope so!

I'd like to take a second to thank everyone who helped out during the event - 

Most importantly - a big thank you to Denny, who cleaned, set-up and broke-down the displays with the Lie-Neilsen crew. This was a HUGE job, and he did it with a ton of energy.  

Thanks to Lupe, who printed the signs and helped man (woman?) the door, selling raffle tickets and greeting our visitors. If you know Lupe, you know that's the perfect position for her!

Beth also lent a hand with raffle sales and was so helpful in giving mini-tours of the shop to new visitors. Her enthusiasm is contagious!

A big thank-you to Dennis Patchett, who spent two days carving wood and discussing his craft. I can't wait to get Dennis back into the school, to teach a carving class. 

Let's not forget Ann, who babysat Stella, taking a huge weight off my shoulders for the weekend!

And a big thanks to all who attended - we met a lot of new woodworkers, signed up a lot of new people into our woodworking program, and made some wonderful connections. 

Keep your fingers crossed for next year!....