Hi folks,
I'm nearly finished with the nice dining table and benches that I've been promising my wife for years. We will also need a pair of chairs to go with it (for the end seating) and some matching stools for the nearby counter. My wife, not surprisingly, is unwilling to wait for me to buy a lathe and learn to make windsor chairs, so...I'm looking to buy some. I'd call the design aesthetic we're going for "contemporary windsor," like Thomas Moser's "Eastward" side chair and crescent high stool.
Thing is, I don't want to buy these things from Thomas Moser. Not because his stuff isn't beautiful or well-made, or reasonably priced (though you might disagree) but because I'd rather support an individual woodworker if I can help it, and have some input on the finish and wood selection. Trouble is...how do you find that individual chairmaker? I've been googling random searches like "custom chairmaker," but does anyone know of a directory for this sort of thing? Or have ideas about who makes stuff like this?
--sam