Earlywood: Give It Away

Now & Forever

Publisher’s note: Good morning! It’s time for us to give away some Earlywood. Every Saturday, we publish a free excerpt from one of the thousands of pieces I’ve written since 1996. Sometimes it’s from a magazine article. Or a book. Or (in this case) a blog post. This one is from August 2020. Each entry has been updated or annotated with some modern context or point of view. We hope you enjoy it.

The worktable from “The Anarchist’s Design Book.”

When I design and build a piece of furniture, it does not belong to me any more than the birdsong of the warblers outside my shop door. 

Since the start of my furniture career in the 1990s, I have never claimed ownership to a single design. The world is free to copy, adapt, interpret, sell and (I hope) improve my best efforts. And the world has occasionally taken me up on my offer. I’ve seen my published designs show up in furniture catalogs and galleries all over the United States.

And I’m fine with it.

I suspect my attitude comes from growing up a…