Good Work: The Chairmaking Life of John Brown

I’m extremely excited to announce that my book ‘Good Work’ The Chairmaking Life of John Brown has been published by Lost Art Press. The book gives an insight John Brown’s fascinating life as a chair maker, hand tool revivalist and also his philosophical approach to the craft. 

The book covers a broad range of subject matter from my own time that I spent with him learning to make chairs. Other voices can also be heard in then book from essays written by family members to the beautiful illustrations in the book by John’s daughter Molly Brown. John’s own voice can also be heard from his writings as a monthly columnist in Good Woodworking Magazine. 

This book is an accumulation of over four years work by myself and the others involved, particularly Christopher Schwarz the editor and publisher at Lost Art Press who was an inspiration to me. The book also includes lots of unseen photos as well as a photographic chapter of me building a Welsh stick chair from scratch. Lots of wonderful locations were used throughout the book to photograph both my own chairs as well as John Brown’s. The locations used were all set in beautiful West Wales from a beautiful Welsh cottage to a classic Georgian Welsh farmhouse where photographer Heather Birnie captures the true spirit of these chairs. 

The book is available in the U.K. through Classic Hand Tools and from Lost Art Press in the USA.