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Featured Windsor Chairmaker
Peter Wallace |
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Peter Wallace reproduces Windsors from
the Golden Age of Windsors, 1740-1800. The characteristics that distinguish
his pieces are an emphasis on faithful adherence to the stylistic nuances,
as well as the construction techniques. His chairs, settees, stools and tables
are actual reproductions with documented historic antecedents rather than
a reinterpretation of the Windsor style.
Peter is a first generation American-born
Scot descended from William Wallace of "Brave Heart" fame. He values scholarship
and spends many hours studying original Windsors in museums, collections
of premier antique dealers and private collections. He has been given access
to Windsors stored in museum archives and has borrowed originals from dealers
for study and measurement in his shop.
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Peter's path to becoming a chair maker
was circuitous. After graduating with a B.A. in English Literature, he returned
to his love of building, inspired by his grandfather, who built large wooden
sailing ships in Aberdeen, Scotland. For 30 years, Peter designed and built
houses, including the one he and wife Carol enjoy in the rural tranquility
surrounded by Amish farmland in Kutztown, PA.
Acquiring a love of antiques from his
father, who was an avid collector of American pewter as well as English Windsors,
Peter had a brief career as an owner of a small antiques shop. His move into
chair making from house construction was a natural extension of his love
of building and of antiques.
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Peter has been a full time, 6 days a
week, chair maker for over 11 years. His work was selected for inclusion
in the Taunton Press book 'The Custom Furniture Sourcebook; A Guide to 125
Craftsmen.' His pieces have also appeared in Fine Woodworking, Country Decorator
and Early American Life, where he was chosen as one of the best 200 craftsmen
for their annual directory. Peter's work continues to be chosen by clients
affiliated with Colonial Williamsburg, Winterthur Museum, Historic Waterford,
and Olde Towne, Philadelphia. These collectors choose his pieces for their
historic integrity. Peter is often commissioned to reproduce an early Windsor
whose cost or unavailability make it otherwise out of reach to the interested
client.
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Peter has a piece in the permanent collection
of the White House, and his work was recently chosen by the Garden Advisor
of Hampton Court Palace to be reintroduced into English gardens where Windsors
first appeared as lawn furniture, long before the American Revolution.
Carol Wallace, also came into chair making
indirectly, with a B.A. In Fine Art, and experience as both an art teacher
and and interior decorator. Carol researches chair finishes to learn about
paint formulas, and wear patterns which allow her to create the appearance
of a chair used over the years. It may take Carol more than 8 hours to complete
the finishing of a chair. She likes being in her side of the shop with Peter
in his as they listen to favorite music, watch hummingbirds at the feeders
and glimpse a great blue heron fishing from the pond. Their commute to work
is to cross, either by small footbridge or a short hop, a small minnow-filled
stream that separates their home from the shop.
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In addition to painted pieces of traditional
combinations of wood, Peter creates chairs and settees in single premier
figured woods such as tiger maple, curly cherry, and walnut, for which there
are early examples. He uses single planks for his seats, never glue-ups even
in an 8 foot bench.
When asked about the durability of their
pieces, The Wallace's quip that four grandchildren regularly "test drive"
their chairs. Even through the "sippy-cup" stage, there are no adverse effects.
Peter's Windsors are meant to be passed down generation to generation, providing
timeless beauty and valued function. Each chair is comfortable, durable and
carries the historic heritage with it.
View more of Peter & Carol's work
on their website,
http://www.windsor-chairs.com
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Contact:
Peter H. Wallace
69 Snyder Rd. ~ Kutztown, PA 19530
Phone/Fax: (610) 683-8224
Email: windsors@enter.net
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