Jim Van Hoven makes Windsor chairs in his modest shop overlooking the St. Croix River Valley using the skills and tools developed by 18th-Century craftsmen. He produces all of the legs, stretchers, arm posts, and back posts free hand. He uses steam to bend green work for artms and bows, assembles each chair by sight line, and finishes it with milk paint a branded hallmark.
Van Hoven’s fascination with Windsor chairs started in the early 1980s when he started collecting them. Recognizing the strengths and weaknesses in numerous repair jobs and seeing how materials and fabrication methods changed through time inspired him to learn more. became the force to learn more. He read books and took classes with Michael Dunbar so he could make his own adaptations based on period originals.
He is a member of the Society of American Period Furniture Makers and the Mid-West Tool Collectors Association. He sells and demonstrates his work at various shows.
The entry deadline for the 2023 Directory of
Traditional American Crafts has passed. We are now processing entries and submitting
them to our jurors. We will contract entrants after the jurors have made ther decisions.
BACKGROUND
