The American Peasant

(This is not a new diet fad.) I hand the grocery store clerk a personal check then quickly scratch its amount in our checkbook’s register. Oh shit, I realize. After paying for these groceries, Lucy and I have only $8 in our checking account. This was a frequent event during the first five years that Lucy and I worked as newspaper journalists. We each made $325 a week (before taxes, health insurance and 401K deductions).

Before we present some Earlywood, here’s a quick note that I have a new chair up for sale here. So what’s Earlywood? It’s a weekly excerpt from one of the thousands of pieces I’ve worked on since 1996. Sometimes, it’s from a magazine article. Or a book. Or (in this case) a blog post from 2011. Many of these entries have been updated with modern context or a new perspective. Enjoy! “Ebenezer,” continued John, “I have come to ask you a question for my mother.

Workshop Covington will open for class registration at noon tomorrow (Wednesday, Oct. 7), which includes three classes that I’m teaching at the new woodworking school. You can read descriptions of all the classes here. I’m particularly excited about the classes I’m teaching at Workshop Covington because two of them are completely new. And the third class is one I have wanted to revisit for years. Here are the details. Jan.

Plus, below the paywall: New information on the origin of Gibson chairs. The American Peasant can’t solve all the world’s problems, but we do have a recipe for a soup that will ward away a pack of wolves, and we know the cure for loneliness. We’re saving the soup recipe for the day when Substack allows a super-secret, super-expensive tier of membership for magical broths. But the loneliness thing? We can fix that today. Step 1: Sign up for a woodworking class about a topic you are passionate about.

Welcome October, welcome Earlywood, a weekly excerpt from one of the thousands of pieces I’ve worked on since 1996. Sometimes, it’s from a magazine article. Or a book. Or (in this case) a blog post from 2022. Many of these entries have been updated with modern context or a new perspective. Enjoy! A couple years ago I purchased a newly published set of six history books.

Our October Swag Week offering is autumnal in color and just about unobtainable anywhere else. It’s perfection in Shaker oval box form, in a 2003 wee wine-colored box made by the legendary John Wilson. This cherry box was made by John in 2003, and came into my possession in 2017 – but I have several other of John’s oval boxes and trays, so I want someone else to have the chance to enjoy this one.

Hi everyone, it’s Ania from Workshop Covington with some exciting news. We will be official launching the Workshop Covington website on October 1 around noon, but we wanted to give you all advance access. Check out WorkshopCovington now to see everything we have in store for the first half of 2027. We’ve put together a range of classes from chairs and casework to design and marquetry. There are classes for both the advanced woodworker and the beginner.

This week has been a mess. I arrived home from Wales on Tuesday night and had to get ready to teach a class at Etherfarm in Wisconsin starting this week. So, I haven’t had much time to think, write or wipe myself properly. As a result, this Sunday article is two smaller pieces with lower ambitions. When working with Nancy Hiller on her “Kitchen Think” book, I spent a fair amount of time in Bloomington, Indiana, with her. Either taking photos for the book or training her to take photos for the book.

Good morning and welcome to Earlywood, a weekly excerpt from one of the thousands of pieces I’ve worked on since 1996. Sometimes, it’s from a magazine article. Or a book. Or (in this case) a blog post from 2021. Many of these entries have been updated with modern context or a new perspective. Enjoy! I think that writing a good song or designing a nice chair is a skill you can learn. The problem is that learning to write or design is not like memorizing the capitals of the 50 states.

Work on the new woodworking school in Covington is progressing rapidly now. The classes for the first six months of 2027 are lined up, the school’s website is set to launch and we are busy improving the school’s bench room at 407 Madison Ave. And, most importantly, the owners of Workshop Covington have resigned from their day jobs, bought a (gorgeous) house a couple blocks from me and are ready to go public.