Split Personality; Jonathan Cox, Brigham Young University.

In the current issue our eZine, I’m reporting on a really cool woodworking design competition that took place last month at the AWFS trade show in Las Vegas. It’s called Fresh Wood, and this was its third appearance at this show. Woodworking students — from high school to design school — pulled out all the stops to create some really fine projects, while putting their skills to the test.

You can check out the article by clicking here.

Art Furniture; Saarinen Balagengatharadilak, Fletcher's Meadow Secondary School.

But, while my article brings you into the loop about the competition, it doesn’t get you into the “heads” of the students who worked so hard to become finalists. We shot plenty of video covering some exciting new products unveiled at the show, but regrettably, we didn’t videotape Fresh Wood. Time just didn’t allow for it … hey, even in Vegas you can’t upgrade to a 36-hour day.

Cantilever; Carol Jackson, University of Oregon.

Fortunately, the folks at Custom Made did shoot video in the Fresh Wood exhibit. They sponsored the Fresh Wood People’s Choice Award, and their blog has some great new segments interviewing several of the student finalists who talk about their inspiration, building challenges and methods of work:

http://custommade.com/blog/

The Chair — A Vehicle for Collaborative Learning; John Barry & McKenzie Stevens, Halifax County High School.

I think it’s pretty enlightening to hear other woodworkers talk about these kinds of issues, because we all face them. Their insights might even give you some “take away” that you can apply to one of your future projects. Oh, and just for the fun of it, here are some more photos of finalist projects we didn’t squeeze into the eZine article. All good stuff!

Catch you in the shop,

Chris Marshall, Field Editor