Bennett Fox Designs | Furniture
Bennett Fox Designs
Phone: +61 414 484 641
Reviews
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25.01.2022 While on the subject of Sennett's book, I've pottered through the thickets of the internet, curious as to what else has been said. Tanya Harrod wrote about the work which is included in her collection, The Real Thing. But my copy is out on loan so i can't revisit. But this review by Pat Kane is also really interesting - it addresses something that niggled & annoyed me - the assumption that there is an option of choice, even as Sennett bemoans the pressures to do less than goo...d work. https://www.theplayethic.com/2008/05/play-and-craft.html
24.01.2022 Looking for something to really get your teeth into? Crafts magazine's archive is currently free online from the Crafts Council UK. A pretty wild journey back through time as well as rediscovery, new favourites, old passions and Tanya Harrod. ... Go lose a few days. We've got plenty to spare at the moment. Hey, maybe we should have an online craft reading group?
24.01.2022 If you don't know what a spokeshave is, or how to use one, this brilliant webinar from Peter Galbert will answer all your questions. And if you haven't used a spokeshave, well it truly is one of those beautiful tools in the hands. And you can never have too many.... https://www.finewoodworking.com//webinar-all-about-spokesh
22.01.2022 When the hand that feeds no longer offers breadcrumbs, and something has grown. But I'm not convinced that hoping for largesse to be handed down is the answer either. https://www.voluntaryarts.org/news/commonground
22.01.2022 Untitled ( maraong manaouwi) by Australian leading artist, Jonathan Jones. A Kamilaroi /Wiradjuri man, this work brings two together two symbols of early colonial Sydney - the broad arrow showing convict manufacture and the track of emu. Over the life of the piece, feet will blur the lines as the gravel is kicked, gradually wiping away the lines, the forms, the evidence. And this at the most interesting museum in Sydney; not because of what its collections or displays say, but what it reveals in the gaps, the silences, the exclusions. It's a site of white histories still fumbling to place the First Nations narratives in the story - Jonathan has made another work that contributes so much to rethinking our histories and reimagining our futures.
21.01.2022 "Don't blow it Brian" - there's still time to stand up for ANU School of Art & Design workshops in Furniture, Jewellery & Objects, Animation & Video and Glass & Ceramics at The Australian National University. #ResistCutsAtANU
21.01.2022 Interesting piece in defence of critical writing around craft. Which is always a touchy subject with makers as it's usually both infuriating and enormously useful as a catalyst at times. Though i still cannot see the merit in Sennett's book, The Craftman (yes yes, that was the first thing that ticked me off) - it really really annoyed me & at least one other maker i know. Happy to hear any reasons as to what I'm missing...
19.01.2022 As Leonard Woolf was known to frequently remark "This too will pass". But for some, we are currently making it just about impossible with government policies following party banter, instead of our best selves. Flick the ASRC a few bucks - what you won't spend on coffees or lunches at work this week, or that haircut which won't be happening anytime soon.... ... Here's an incentive - I'll post a piccie of shaggy me in about 4 weeks - it won't be pretty.
18.01.2022 Though the scale is different if you're making a chair or piece of tableware, the basic principles remain the same. Except for the caulking. Thankfully, I don't have to do any caulking ever again. https://www.facebook.com/641493997/posts/10160093408543998/?extid=jQR28Bdsr225rYUQ
16.01.2022 https://www.facebook.com/247252025392434/posts/3032815500169392/?sfnsn=mo&d=n&vh=i
16.01.2022 Well arty farty Canberra, you missed a treat. The Reel to Reel craft film festival was terrific. Some really wonderful pieces of both film making and making. And all in the glory of the Roy Grounds Shine Dome auditorium. Make it a definite part of your 2021 Design Canberra Festival.
14.01.2022 Bestest.human.in.the.world. https://www.instagram.com/p/B69guNrAE3B/?igshid=hqe28yy374q
13.01.2022 If you ever have the chance to do a turning course with Richard, do it. Even if you have no interest whatsoever in turning. Or you could just buy the vids from Taunton.
13.01.2022 This is a great series, written by Nancy Hillier who is also a maker (English trained, American based). They're not fluff pieces, and though short, Hillier pulls together insight and reflection from each subject.
13.01.2022 And then how it was made. https://youtu.be/2FESoMFK4QU
12.01.2022 Right. Excellent. Brilliant. https://youtu.be/Qsqv3Zhgu3E
10.01.2022 From Instagram. I am pretty rubbish at posting on it as well. I can't find that space between blogging and haiku so apologies once again, I've written a blog post. https://www.instagram.com/p/CARzLhID7s9/
08.01.2022 New swing tags delivered in lightening time by @printtogetherpage. Rubbish photo & layout all my responsibility. Getting myself organised for working with.... drum roll please. Oh you'll know soon enough.
08.01.2022 Apart from the chance to see the current Hiroe Swen exhibition or the upcoming wood grad show, you can also find some of my tableware now in stock at the Sturt Gallery & Shop. https://www.sturt.nsw.edu.au/sturt-campus/sturt-gallery
08.01.2022 It appears that he owns three Starrett straight edges.
07.01.2022 So. Workshop front wall & door installed. Sisulation, insulation, lining, damp coursing and lovely hinges second hand from the Handymans Trading Post in Fyshwick. Which is where the lovely oregan door came from - 910mm wide as well. So far only one coat of the Taubmans 'black fox' low sheen but it's a much nicer paint to use than the Dulux gloss. Another coat or two to go but very happy with the tint.... But can you name the artist the colour scheme pays homage to?
06.01.2022 A long delayed project might just get done over this period of hiatus. The workshop has a metal tilt door which has always irritated me greatly. Unwieldy, thermal properties of tinfoil, and frankly, at least 1.2 metres of it is a waste of space. Plan has always been to replace it with part wall plus wide door. I now have the door. Yes it needs a bit of work including glass pane replaced (on hand), lock mortise patched, stripping and repaint, but it's 940mm wide and will let in lovely southern light.
06.01.2022 An exhibition i won't get to see :( but first hand reports state categorically this is one for the ages.
06.01.2022 So, these are recent arrivals from @workshopheaven a couple of #ashleyisles butt chisels sold as schtickle. I’d been looking at them for a while and the chance to try out a couple at sale price well. A few observations Ashley Isles chisels are ground with a very slight concave bottom. Not to the Japanese extreme, but it makes them very quick to true up. Secondly, they are a small chisel, beautifully balanced and perfect in my small mitts. And thirdly, they use high carbo...n steel. In the photos is my precious. My #ward patternmaker’s chisel picked up at a tool swap this is a thing of beauty to use and killer steel, not to mention astonishing tool making craft (though the replacement handle is a bit blah I agree). Generally I use #Japanesechisels they're the sets I bought when starting out, and they are good chisels. But neither the carpenter chisels nor paring chisels have filled my heart with joy the way the Ward does. And part of that is how sharp I can get it. In the latest ep STL221 from @finewoodworkingmagazine, #GaryRogowski made a lot of really interesting comments, including mentioning using high speed steel router cutters on koa it’s sharper than carbide when new, cheaper, and treated as disposable tooling by the makers based on Hawaii. And for anyone who uses #Australianhardwoods or even #blackwood which loves to burn, a new HSS cutter is the cat’s pyjamas. You can keep your carbide cutters as far as I am concerned. So will the Ashley Isles chisels hold an edge as long as newer steel s claim? Probably not. Is it as durable as cryo-treated steels? Again, probably not. But I can get an edge that will keep me smiling until I have to sharpen. And I quite enjoy sharpening it’s a touch mediative and the result from a tool kept sharp is worth far more than something I can keep bashing or stabbing into a surface long past when I think it sharp. Needless to say, when next I can rationalise spending really not much at all, I’ll be ordering the set of six butt chisels from the UK. And maybe another blade and cap iron for the #5. I do love @hocktools plane blades , but for a #5 that is often asked to do dreadful things, I don’t feel as if I’m offending the tool goddess, Cruciblia quite so much.
04.01.2022 Even in Tory Britian, the value of the crafts or creative arts if you prefer is acknowledged. If in some part due to their ruling elites understanding how to use the display of an appropriate type of taste as a marker of status. Unlike the bogans here who trust to sport (Alan Bond & the America's Cup) or rural tropes (Reinhardt or Forrest or even Murdoch) which add zip to our cultural landscapes. https://www.designweek.co.uk//the-uks-craft-industry-can/
02.01.2022 Great videos, great content from a young Danish cabinetmaker. https://youtu.be/xYav3jsw7B4
02.01.2022 Buying and fixing second hand machines is always a risk. If you're not mechanically minded or can pester thems that do know for help, a bargain can quickly turn into a very large boat anchor. Today the new guides from Carter Products arrived. Beautifully machined, if they work as well as they're made, I'll be very happy.
02.01.2022 For future viewing https://www.rememberthewild.org.au/eucalypt/
