Pushstick Design

Sunset Bleacher (formerly known as the Lookout Bench)

2010-09-22T21:43:00.001-04:00

Another project from the workshop weekend. The "Sunset Bleacher" is inspired by my tendency to sit on a picnic table the wrong way: Butt on the table surface and feet on the seat. It wasn't until after the project was designed and built that I noticed it's resemblance to a lifeguard's chair. I think it's inspired, my wife thinks I should open a shoeshine. Either way, you can't argue with a view like that.

Workshop Weekend

2010-09-22T21:29:00.004-04:00

Every year around this time, the editorial staff from Canadian Home Workshop magazine makes the trek to our cottage to photograph projects for upcoming issues. This year, my projects were fewer than previous years, but we braved the cold and came up with a bunch of great shots thanks to the tireless work of Roger Yip. Here is my barn board TV cabinet which finally will organize the clutter of modest media equipment. I wasn't sure how the roughness of the barn board would turn out, but I'm pretty pleased with it. The forged steel hardware is a nice touch to the roughened surfaces. Thank you Douglas, Amy, Rose and Roger for the great time! Look for the barn board cabinet in an upcoming issue of Canadian Home Workshop Magazine.

From The Shoemaker's Kids Department...

2007-01-18T11:19:00.001-05:00

Seldom do I get a chance to build something for myself, so it is with great delight that I present to you my new harvest table. I had been deflecting this project for years but when my wife and I found ourselves actually contemplating going out and buying one (Yikes!), I had to give my head a shake and get out to the workshop. The table top is made from four granary boards salvaged from a barn built around 1870 in Whitchurch-Stouffville, Ontario. The leg stock was salvaged from a demolished barn in Zephyr, Ontario. The many imperfections in the tabletop (nail holes, insect damage, peg holes and the like) were first filled with black epoxy and then sanded flush to the table's surface. I opted to sand the tabletop instead of planing to preserve as much of the original patina as possible. The finish is an oil-based stain followed by several coats of satin polyurethane. I strayed from my usual hand-rubbed tung oil finishes as this is our daily-use table and needed the extra durability.

Cottage Projects 2006, Part Two

2006-09-04T15:07:00.000-04:00

Cottage project number two for 2006 was building a new dock. After hauling the old, crumbling dock out of the water and busting it apart for easy disposal (As it turned out this activity changed somewhat from my original optimistic plan of beefing up the flotation, replace a few bits of wood and pushing it back in the water before lunch time) I set to work building a new dock. The build actually went very smoothly over the few weekends it took, thanks to the help of friends and lots of beautifully engineered hardware. My dock exploits will be covered in an article in Canadian Home Workshop Magazine next Summer.

Cottage Projects 2006, Part One.

2006-09-04T14:39:00.000-04:00

This is our fourth summer at the cottage and I continue to pick away at my long list of required improvements. This summer marks a record for me since my promise to take it easy lasted for a record-breaking duration of a couple days before I came to my senses and rushed out to rent a big, noisy power tool. Hours later, I had removed one of the windows in the main floor and was happily cutting through the concrete foundation with my new toy. Cutting the concrete turned out to be relatively painless—it was the endless assortment of scrap metal that had been encased in the concrete that wasn't much fun. It turns out the previous owner of the cottage and the one responsible for pouring the concrete wall in the first place really didn't want it to come down easily. I counted six different types of metal reinforcements including rebar, angle iron, steel plate, galvanized conduit, solid bar stock and solid rod stock. All of which slowed down and/or dulled my cutting blade with varying degrees of efficiency. I can now say however, based on a fair amount of firsthand knowledge, that removing concrete walls is a piece of cake compared to cleaning up the dust generated by removing concrete walls. I am also happy to report that the reason for all this self-inflicted mayem (installing a new six-foot sliding door) has turned out to be one of the best improvements to a living space that I've ever done.

The votes are in…

2006-09-04T14:06:00.000-04:00

…and sadly, I did not win diddly with my Bunkie article. Oh well, I had a great time at the awards so all was not lost. And I've finally resigned myself to the fact that I can only add to this blog very occasionally—it seems that every time I turn around, another few months have past.

And the nominees are…

2006-05-03T12:34:00.000-04:00

Back in October I wrote about my article for Canadian Home Workshop magazine. I'm pleased to say that the article has been nominated for a National Magazine Award in the How-to category. Many thanks go to all the people who helped make this article a success including Douglas Thomson, Amy McCleverty, Jess Ross, Christopher Campbell, Len Churchill and Steve Maxwell. You can find out more about the National Magazine Awards here.

Summer Press

2006-05-01T13:48:00.000-04:00

The May issue of Canadian Home Workshop is out and features two of my projects built and photographed last summer. Roger Yip shot The Outdoor Sink at my Georgian Bay office.

A Rare Glimpse…

2006-02-03T09:53:00.000-05:00

What you're looking at is an extremely rare glimpse of my shop, well the business end of it anyway—the piles of stuff are behind the camera. You see, last week I finished my first article for Canadian Contractor Magazine on setting up a home workshop—and oh, by the way, can you send us some photos of your workshop. Yikes. So a few hours (and one trip to the landfill) later my workshop emerged from the remnants of finished projects and piles of sawdust. I managed to get several shots using strategically calculated camera angles. The result is a passable workspace. Just don't blink, it won't stay this way for long.

Back at Last

2005-10-28T21:33:00.000-04:00

It's hard to believe I haven't posted anything since March! I guess I've been busy. My bunkie at our cottage was the cover project for the Summer issue of Canadian Home Workshop magazine. The feedback from the article has been positive and the magazine will be fun to look back on twenty years from now.

Most of the work I've been doing through the summer has been design—and I usually can't show any of that until the products have come to market. I should be able to post some of the more interesting projects closer to Christmas.

TV Me

2005-03-01T17:08:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I did another "occasional" TV spot. This time on CHTV. This time showing off some new tools and plugging the Canadian Home Workshop Show happening this weekend.

Interior Design Show 2005

2005-02-14T13:05:00.000-05:00

Thanks to all that visited me at the 2005 Interior Design Show on the weekend. The show was excellent and it's always a pleasure to exhibit in the midst of so much great design. For those that where unable to attend the show, here's a few digital pics of my booth and furniture.

Bunkie Revisited

2005-02-09T11:11:00.000-05:00

Not so long ago I posted a before and after photos of my little sleeping cabin on Georgian Bay. I'm happy to say that my little bunkie will be the subject of an upcoming article in Canadian Home Workshop Magazine. Here's a finished shot (Thanks Chris Campbell)

2005 Interior Design Show

2005-02-07T10:44:00.000-05:00

I've been racing to complete several new pieces of furniture and a new concrete-topped vanity for the 2005 Interior Design Show in Toronto. If you're in the area it's worth attending. The show starts this Thursday, February 10 and runs through Sunday, February 13. You'll find Pushstick at the Studio North exhibit of the show. Stop in and say hello!

Finally Finished

2004-11-20T01:43:00.000-05:00

It was a tight squeeze trying to take this photo to show as much as possible but here it is. My very own bathroom—finally finished. Don't worry, I don't have to fit into that little four foot tub! It took me the longest time to find an old cast iron tub that short.

Package Design & Illustration

2004-11-20T01:22:00.000-05:00

I quite like these package designs I did for Spenco Medical Corporation. The feet were drawn in Poser from Curious Labs. Once the packaging was designed, the 3D version of the 3 packages was completed so that the new boxes could go into sales collateral material before the actual packages were completed.

Silver Lining Needed

2004-11-20T01:05:00.000-05:00

This drawing was done for client that bailed on the project. Its a shame—I was looking forward to building this one. The walnut and zebrano vanity is topped with natural concrete and a brake-formed stainless steel pan sink. The wall behind the vanity encloses the shower area.

Vanity Fair

2004-11-19T23:40:00.000-05:00

Another vanity. This time with a cast glass vessel sink. The enclosed back will hide the plumbing supply lines since this one is going on an outside wall. This one will be ready in January. I'll post pictures once it's done.

Clowning Around

2004-11-19T23:31:00.000-05:00

A pretty little table in fiddleback maple with a mystery wood* accent. I don't know who carved the clown but I'm happy to have my table as his resting place.

*Mystery Wood is so named because I don't know what it is and all attempts at identification have failed. It's medium brown in colour with a little curl in it and fills the shop with a Eucalyptus fragrance when I'm working with it. And no, it's not Eucalyptus smarty pants.

Walnut and Concrete Cabinet

2004-11-19T23:26:00.000-05:00

I don't do a lot of casegoods, but this one should be interesting when it's finished. The walnut base cabinet will be topped with natural concrete and the upper shelves get glass doors. I'm debating using stainless steel legs instead of walnut as shown. I'll post it when it's complete

In the works

2004-07-15T11:38:00.000-04:00

Five tabletops waiting for final coats in my finishing room. (back left) Bubinga with ribbon figuring, (back right) Spalted Maple with Walnut accents, (foreground) Fiddleback Maple with mystery wood accents.

Copper Sink

2004-07-15T11:23:00.000-04:00

This solid copper sink and counter combination tops a curly cherry Genki vanity. The oiled bronze, single-hole faucet is a good match for the colour that the copper will turn as it ages. Copper isn't for everyone. When asked how to keep the copper shiny like a new penny, the answer is easy: "you don't".

Planter Plan

2004-07-12T09:50:00.000-04:00

Versailles planter assembly instruction illustration created for Canadian Gardening Magazine.

Genki Revisited

2004-07-09T17:04:00.000-04:00

This is a new design for my Genki line of bathroom vanities. I'll post the actual project once it's done. The sheet-formed copper sink will be supported by four steel legs and a cantilevered counter of South American Ipé will be offset by a concrete shelf at the bottom of the structure.

Silicone Soul

2004-07-06T14:55:00.000-04:00

Posting samples of my illustration will not be quite as spontaneous as other projects. Methinks the folks that pay the bills might have a problem with me broadcasting the latest thingamajig to the general population before they've had a chance to. That said, here is a little gel heel cushion I did a while back for Spenco Medical Corporation. They provide an engineering drawing all flat and clinical-like and I turn it into a sparkly picture suitable for framing (or using in an ad). I wish you could see the stuff I'm doing now!

Before. After.

2004-07-06T09:03:00.000-04:00

This personal project is a little bigger then the what I usually tackle. The little, dilapidated sleeping cabin on the left has been chopped and channeled to make way for a shiny new sleeping cabin on the right. All this activity is taking place at my Northern office on Georgian Bay. Just 13 reasonably leisurely workdays in—it should be ready after a couple of more days work. Stay tuned.

Concrete & Cherry

2004-06-29T21:37:00.000-04:00

A recently completed vanity for a client in Toronto. The end of the left wing conceals a toilet paper holder and the solid cherry bench behind the right wing extends across the soaker tub to the wall.

Prairie Lantern

2004-06-22T21:34:00.000-04:00

I built this garden lantern for a magazine article. It's based on sketches I had kicking around for quite a while. The Prairie name comes from the design influences of Frank Lloyd Wright's prairie architecture. The lantern is built from clear redwood, salvaged from huge, 100-year-old wine fermenting vats. Thank you to Bert Klassen for letting me use his gorgeous photo.

Who says the shoemaker's kids go barefoot.

2004-06-22T16:04:00.000-04:00

I recently completed the renovation of our main-floor bathroom and included one of my vanities. This one is done in mocha-stained oak with an acid-dyed concrete counter and sports a handspun copper sink. E-mail me if you'd like to see more photos.

Spalted maple quadrilune table

2004-06-22T15:09:00.000-04:00

The little walnut quadrilune table proved to be popular. Here is the same design executed in spalted maple for a client in Philadelphia.

Walnut bookcase and side table

2004-06-21T13:46:00.000-04:00

I designed this pair to fit into a tiny sunroom—the bookase occupies a corner and the quadrilune table nestles bewtween two upholstered side chairs. Both in solid walnut and walnut veneers.