Apothecary Chest - final

[Brian Behrens]

Your work is unbelievable. It is what I aspire to be able to do someday.

[michael langman]

It is nice to see you could still use the stand and It goes together with the chest much better. No matter the outcome of the contest, the Apothecary Chest looks like a winner to me.
Best pf luck in the contest Derek.

[Jim Tobias]

Beautiful piece....VERY pleasing to the eye! I enjoyed following this build and am always impressed with your attention to every detail and your patience to "get it right".
Congratulations on a great piece of work.

Jim

[Mike Allen1010]

Derek I admire your high standards and competitive spirit in submitting your work to a juried show. FWIW, as someone who has submitted projects to juried shows over the years, I would much rather have the respect and admiration of fellow woodworkers who have a first-hand appreciation and understanding of of the skill and execution that goes into achieving a piece like yours, as compared to juried results where the criteria for evaluation and the perspective/experience of the jury is sometimes less than clear. I hope that doesn't sound like sour grapes – that's certainly not my intention.


Regardless of the jury results, I personally would be thrilled and humbled to have your apothecary chest in my house.


Thanks again for your generous contributions to the Creek. I was look forward to your posts and learn a lot from your skill and expertise.


Best, Mike

[Derek Cohen]

Mike, thank you so much for your generous comments.

Your message is very pertinent on a couple of levels. It is not simply about the competition, but the work we do for ourselves. It is my perception that there is a difference between work taken for competitions and clients, and work we do for ourselves or era-correctness. The former group demand a different level of perfection than the later group.

My standards are high-ish. I often say that I aim for perfection, but I do not expect it - which is really to mean that I will do the very best and accurate work I can, but I shall not be that fussy that I become frozen with anxiety at the thought of a mistake. Years ago I chose to publish my work warts and all because I thought that it would be a truer reflection of the process of a Weekend Warrior building furniture. I stutter and struggle through many tasks. I am not fluid as I would like. I make mistakes and correct them. I am getting quite good at correcting them!

By contrast, the standards set in a competition rule out any imperfections. A bit of tearout here-and-there, a little spelching, or a gap ... these are a definite no-no. Marks are taken away for such evidence. No matter the level of complexity, how original the design, or how difficult the construction, lesser pieces will win if they are flawless. My pieces are not flawless. They are made for home, not for critical clients or perfection-orientated judges. I believe that is a reason why a few years ago my Lingerie Chest did not win even a place, and third went to a simple, but well-make sofa table. Last year I won with a sofa table, which was not simple but it was near-perfectly executed.

The guys who tend to feature highly in our competitions are those that work with veneer. I believe there is an advantage: unseen joinery that does not need to be traditional, perfect alignments, and MDF/Ply substrates cut with machines.

I am not expecting a win (I have seen some of the other entrants - wow!). It will be a bonus to get a place. I am just happy to be out there among my peers.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Kees Heiden]

Funny to think that not even mr. Chippendale would score very high in such a competition!

[Dave Beauchesne]

Thanks for sharing along the way Derek - a superb piece of craftsmanship.
Dave B

[Dave Anderson NH]

Absolutely fabulously done Derek. It seems a shame though that you put in so much work and it sits in the hall. I would have thought it would go in a combination of a place of honor and one where the drawers would be of some utility. Your work and your pictorial commentaries o the build add much to this forum. Thank you!

[Bruce Page]

Derek, beautiful work as always.
I enjoy all your build threads.

[Brian Holcombe]

Perfection in execution is nice but not a requirement in my eyes on a one-off hand made piece. Not to diminish perfect work, but likely it is a result of a repetition in design and manufacture. The pieces I make continuously I get to revisit the problem areas more often to land on a solution that is ‘perfect’.

Not sure the judges weight this, bit seems ridiculous to mark off for minor imperfections. Save that for major imperfections.

[Hasin Haroon]

Beautiful Derek. Thanks for the detailed build threads.

[Aaron Rosenthal]

I'm also joining the chorus with the praise on the stunning work. I'm nowhere near there as far as skill.
Now why not take a vacation and - go to work just to relax?
Just kidding, as a foster parent for special need kids, I know THAT sress.

[Derek Cohen]

Aaron, I am in awe of parents who live with and manage kids with special needs. That is a comittment with challenges that few can comprehend. I specialise in this area, but have the luxury of handing the kids back at the end of an appointment. Parents cannot. Their need to attend to detail makes furniture building pale into insignificanse.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Robert Hazelwood]

Beautiful work as always, Derek. I appreciate that you tackle these complex builds and then document them so thouroughly. Also enjoyed the videos you made for this build.

[James Waldron]

Well done, Derek.