Umbrella Stand and Gentlemen's Dressing Stool 

Those of us who live in the Northern Sonoran desert are often taken for rubes and fools. That's why we were a little skittish when a client asked us to make an umbrella stand in the Arts & Crafts style. What's an umbrella? We're told that it's a device which one holds over one's head to protect it from rain. What's rain? Water that falls from the sky. Sure it does. Next, someone is going to try to tell us that that white stuff on mountain tops isn't iodized salt!

But a client is a client, and there's precedence... So here it is.

Complete with planished copper drip tray.

Quarter sawn oak really flashes with a darker finish.

With a companion Gentleman's Dressing Stool.

There comes a time in each man's life when he judges it's better if he puts on his shoes and socks sitting down. When that time comes is an individual judgement. Why that time comes...is better left undiscussed. But the time does come. And when it comes, it's better to have a sturdy oaken stool of exactly the right height to sit on than to sit on the edge of the bed or the equivalent.

Our stool is 21" tall. The seat is 12" across, and has a pronounced chamfer around all edges for comfort. A hand grip makes it convenient to move the stool out of the way with one hand. Made of quarter sawn oak, except for plain oak stretchers, both of which are fastened via tenon and tusk joints. As shown, $129.95.

The photo to the right shows the tenon and tusk joint securing the bottom stretcher.

The photo to the left depicts the quarter sawn oak seat showing through tenons.

A good 95% of our commissions are delivered finished to Standard, which is to say, fumed in ammonia, shellaced, urethane varnished, and waxed with pigmented wax. But once in a while, a client requests a special finish. That's fine with us. We are, after all, a custom Arts & Crafts furniture shop. The requested finish is rarely an improvement over Standard. But this time, the client's request produced a finish that just flat knocks your eyes out. Talk about drama! Talk about visual impact! Nothing more need be said.