We are pleased to welcome the newest master furniture maker, Vermont native Eric Cannizzaro, to the Guild. Here is a quick Q & A to get to know a little bit more about Eric and his craft.
What inspired you to pursue woodworking?
I was hired as a student employee in the wood shop at Evergreen State College, which was my first real introduction to woodworking. Having worked a few construction jobs after high school I was familiar with power tools, but that was about it. I went to Evergreen to study natural history but wound up spending half of my time pursuing woodworking.
What brought you back to Vermont after traveling for years?
I was looking for a place to settle down and set up shop. I’d spent the last couple years in Tennessee apprenticing with a Windsor chairmaker, but I didn’t feel like it was the right place for me long-term. I moved home in 2021 to live with my grandmother. I am currently setting up my shop in an outbuilding next to her house, which is where I host my woodworking classes.
How would you describe your style and how has it changed?
I make Windsor and ladder back chairs. My work falls under the umbrella of green woodworking, a type of woodworking that emphasizes the utilization of the strength, and exploitation of the weakness in any given material. There may be 5 different species of wood in Windsor chair, each chosen for its properties, as opposed to its color or gain pattern: Oak because it bends well, Pine because it carves well, Maple because it holds crisp details in turnings. The chairs I make have much more in common with a carved spoon or a bent wood pitch fork than they do most other types of furniture.
How do you connect your love of ornithology and natural history to your artwork?
To me they are distinct passions. I’ve been asked that question before, especially in reference to my use of color. I think the most useful part of my formal education in what I do now is being able to understand my material. An understanding of forest ecology and botany are helpful when I’m at the log yard picking out material, in the woods looking for a hickory to get bark from, or with a group of students talking about what makes good chair wood and why.
When a potential client contacts you, what would that process look like? How do you collaborate with clients to create the perfect custom piece?
Over the last few years I’ve begun to shy away from taking on custom work. I’ve put a lot of energy into teaching and marketing my own designs, but there are some options even in my own designs that are always up to the client.
You also offer chair making classes. Tell us about that.
I teach mostly out of my own shop, but I do teach some classes on the road at craft schools and other wood shops. I publish a schedule every fall for the following year. Classes are typically 7 days long, usually starting by splitting parts out of a log on day one. They tend to follow a 9 to 5 schedule everyday, so it’s a full-time class. This year they are being offered about once a month.
Follow this link to sign up for Eric’s classes : https://www.ericcannizzaro.com/classes