Some partnerships start with a good idea. The best ones start with a good person. Three years into our official collaboration with Chris Hanson of Modern American Vintage, we couldn’t be happier to say that Chris and his family are exactly that: the kind of people you meet once and feel like you’ve been friends for a decade. We love our catch-ups, our brainstorming sessions, and our collaborations, and we’ll jump at any chance to team up and have a little fun.
Professionally, our admiration for Chris runs deep. Every piece he makes is made by hand. He chooses each individual piece of wood, then cuts, places, glues, trims, sands, and polishes (with some help from his incredible mom and sister), but with his whole heart in all of it. Some days that means 13 hours at the bench. On a recent call, we found ourselves talking about how lucky we both are. Our professions couldn’t be more different, but we both wake up excited about the work ahead and eager to see what else is possible. It takes a toll, but Chris and his family are building toward something that isn’t a finish line. It’s a life of creating, evolving, and adding more, one you don’t need a vacation from. That vision has already led to big changes, including a brand new workshop and a new home on the horizon. It’s inspiring to watch.
Over the years, we’ve partnered on a custom two-sided tool, a mending bundle for the holidays, and the MAV Kit & Caboodle.
This time looks a little different. You won’t find actual Aurifil spools in the box, but if you’re an Aurifan, you won’t want to miss this one. Chris is launching pre-orders TODAY for his new Aurifil Quilter’s Clapper, with four large spools of Aurifil brought to life in wood. He’ll tell you all about it in our interview below. Be sure to click through and grab your pre-order, because you just might receive a special promo code as a thank-you from both Aurifil and MAV.
Hey Chris! It’s been a little while since we last sat down together, and so much has happened. We’re thrilled to be talking about these Aurifil spool Quilters Clappers, which are truly something to behold. Let’s start at the beginning: where did the idea come from? What made you want to bring four large spools of Aurifil to life in wood?
The first time I met you and the Aurifil team in person was a lovely day in Atlanta, Georgia during my first QuiltCon experience! We visited you at your booth and you had this awesome quilt displayed of all the colors of Aurifil thread sewn into hundreds of tiny little spools. Immediately I thought that could be such a cool clapper design to showcase the incredible colors and grains of wood in a clever way and I loved the idea of cutting the woods tangentially to their grain direction to make it look like it was wrapping around the spool. The only thing that kept me from really pursuing the project was that it was too bad that, until recently, I didn’t think there were any woods that sported that trademark Aurifil orange for the spools themselves! That is until I found out about Pernambuco and Niove! As soon as I saw those I got down to business to make these a reality. Plus I’ll jump at any chance to team up with my Aurifil buddies!
Without revealing all of your secrets, can you walk us through part of your process? From the first spark to the final coat of finish, what does it take to turn a spool into a clapper?
It all comes down to the grain and color of the wood. One of the few things that has carried over into my woodworking career from my time in film school was color theory. Some woods are absolutely stunning but might clash with others depending on their hue or vibrance, especially when pairing with 3 or 4 other species. Sometimes you just need to set those woods aside for other projects.
So once I figured out which woods play nicely together, I figure out the most efficient cutting strategy so I don’t waste a bunch of what can potentially be very expensive and hard to find material. Every cut is measured several times before I take the plunge!
After piecing the top together, it’s a much more simple matter of prepping the top for gluing to the base, then it goes to the table saw to clean up the sides, then the band saw to round the ends, 4 rounds of sanding and 2 coats of polish! I will never get tired of seeing the grain and colors come to life with that first coat of polish!
Last time you told us that testing which woods “jive” together is one of your favorite parts of the process. How did you land on the combinations for these clappers? Were there any that surprised you?
The gradient from green to red was a really fun one to see come to life. The fact that I can make all primary and secondary colors of the wheel just using naturally colored, un-dyed woods still blows my mind. I used green poplar, yellow Argentine Osage Orange, orange Niove and red Padauk in this design. These bright colors work really well with the orange Pernambuco spools, but it is such a rare and spendy species of wood, mostly used for bows for string instruments, that I could only justify using it in this color combo.
The more pronounced grains and muted colors of the second style work much better with the slightly less vibrant African wood called Niove. From the top, I used Canarywood, Black Palm, Bocote and Zebrawood. I was surprised by how much I like the Canarywood with the other exotics given how bright it is when paired to the darker woods below it. I think it adds a nice pop of color to a more texture-forward wood.
Why was creating these clappers important to you?
I am always looking for new and clever ways to showcase what I think are the most beautiful natural materials in existence. Sure there are tons of different types of rocks, gems, metals and minerals that literally sparkle and come in much more vibrant colors, but the fact that Earth is the only place we know of that this stuff even grows at all, and furthermore that it grows in these colors and grains will never cease to amaze me. Forgive my poetic waxing. It literally rains diamonds on Uranus and Neptune, scientists have discovered asteroids made entirely out of gold and silver that was forged when stars explode, but you can only find wood growing on our little rock which makes it some of the most rare material in existence. I’ll admit, that’s a little heavy handed but that’s what makes me so excited to get into the shop every day!
You’ve been part of the Aurifil family for a few years now. What’s kept you coming back to work with us, and what does it mean to you to put our spools in your hands, so to speak?
I have more fun brainstorming with the Aurifil team about all of the fun things we get to create together! You’ve given me so many great ideas and you have always been so supportive of our little family business and you never seem to want anything in return. The fact that I get to work with a giant in the industry like Aurifil who is so genuinely eager to team up with smaller fish like myself speaks volumes about the company.
You’re now working in a brand new workshop, and we’d love to hear all about it. What was that first day like, stepping into the new space? How does it compare to the one where you got your start?Finally being in a dedicated work space is simply amazing. I still have a TON to do to get this shop into a more efficient setup including getting the dust collection system hung, stations built for each step of the process and a ridiculous amount of organizing, but it feels amazing that I never again have to step foot into a cramped two stall garage, stepping over piles of wood and half finished projects to set up in the driveway, tearing down every night or having to quickly tear down if a squall blows in during the afternoon, or just gritting my teeth and working in the rain and snow. And God bless my amazing neighbors for putting up with all the noise and dust!
One of my favorite things about this workshop is the climate controlled office where I can store all of the completed loot! Until now, I had to haul all of the finished tools into my basement by hand for storage and order fulfillment. Now I get to just wheel everything in through the door! My wife loves that I’m not going to be tracking a bunch of sawdust into the house anymore as well.
Your work is so tied to family: your creativity, your work ethic, and your perseverance all seem to come from wanting to build something valuable and lasting for your kids. What does it mean to you to create something tangible they can call their own, something bigger than any one tool?
I absolutely love that I get to work with my family. I did the corporate thing for a few years out of college and basically missed my son’s first year which just killed me, so the minute we realized we could make this business work, we poured everything into building MAV. This business comes with more than its fair share of challenges like the consistent 13 hour work day, but my kids Chase and Brielle know that they can always come down to the workshop and steal me away from work for a while when they need a push on the swing.
Since we really dove into this venture, my wife, mom and sister have been the greatest teammates I could ask for. My wife Britta keeps us legal and interfaces with our accountant and attorney, the MAV Mom Lisa helps me prototype new notions, comes with me on adventures to trade shows and has taken over email correspondence, and my sister Jenn has helped me from the very beginning with web development and hand sanding about 99% of the hand tools that come out of this shop. I’ve even been able to get the kiddos in on the fun by helping us with little jobs like polishing tools. Just the other night we had a pizza party and watched their favorite show while we polished some new tools for an upcoming advent calendar!
Ultimately, in addition to building something that we can all be proud of, my goal for this business is to build more than just a place to work as they get older. I also see it as a tool for me to model the character that I hope to instill in them as they grow. Hard work and enjoying the rewards of accomplishing something difficult, trying new things, not being afraid to be creative and learn from what doesn’t work, chasing your passion, thankfulness and faith.
Where do you see all of this taking you next?
Phew this adventure has taken us quite a ways already! Now that I’m in this workshop, I’ve finally got some extra space to try my hand at some more in depth builds like sewing tables! I have been building up quite the stash of some of the most beautiful slabs I’ve ever seen that I can’t wait to dive into.
Also, now that the shop is built and we’re on this property full time, we are one step closer to our dream of doing the homestead thing! Just need to build some fencing to keep the emus in 😉
Any fun tidbits or sneak peeks you can share with our readers?
We have some amazing things planned for the next couple years! In addition to some new notions, we also framed out a nice sized chunk of the workshop to build Britta’s pottery studio! Pretty soon you will see some of your favorite MAV notions in stoneware as well as all kinds of beautiful home goods that we have had an absolute blast brainstorming over! The kiln should be here in the next month or two, so keep an eye open for that announcement when it becomes official!
A huge thank you to Chris (and to his family, too!) for the inspiration, the conversation, and the fun. We’re so proud to be a small part of what you’re building, and we can’t wait to see where the road goes next.
Ready to make these yours? Pre-order your Aurifil Quilter’s Clapper at Modern American Vintage, and be sure to share it with us once it’s in your studio.