09/19/2025
Building a chair from grapevine and hickory bark gives new meaning to the term handcrafted.
Harvesting grapevine is a labor of patience and persistence. Only the straightest sections are suitable, and from a 12-foot length, I might only get two usable pieces. That means I typically gather three times more than I think I’ll need—just to be safe. Grapevine is incredibly strong and dense. Regular nails won’t cut it—they’ll bend—so I use case-hardened nails. Even then, with a pilot hole drilled, it still takes twice as many hammer strikes to drive them in.
The hickory bark for the seat and back takes just as much effort. I start by selecting a young, straight tree with a clean trunk, then haul the 200-pound log out of the woods. I shave off the outer bark to reveal the inner bark, then cut it into 3- to 4-inch strips, peel them off, roll them into coils, and let them dry. When it’s time to weave, I soak the coils, run them through a homemade jig to slice them into ½-inch strips, and then weave them into a herringbone pattern. Just the weaving takes a couple of days.
To my knowledge, no one else builds chairs using this method. I’ve only made a couple dozen over the years, which makes each one a rare and truly unique piece.
Come see us this weekend at the in Soldier’s Grove, WI.
Saturday 10am-5pm
Sunday 10am-4pm
