7 Drawer Dresser Wins an Award!

Texas Furniture Makers Awards Ceremony

Awards Ceremony – Credit: Doug Stowe

The awards ceremony at the Texas Furniture Makers Show was packed as usual, with friends and family. It is a great time to reconnect with fellow furniture makers to share ideas and ask questions.

One of the Judges, Curtis Whittington, gave a nice talk prior to the announcement of the awards. He talked about how hard it was to judge the show. He said that he had been a furniture maker for over 50 years, 35 of which was his primary means of making a living. He said that this show was nationally recognized and one of the best furniture shows in the country.

Pictured are the 3 furniture show judges and myself (l.to r.)  Curtis Whittington, professional furniture maker and 3 time judge of the show; Doug Stowe, author, box maker and speaker; Frank and J.R. Huebinger , President Alamo Hardwoods.


I was quite surprised and very honored when they announced that I had won 2nd place overall, for the dresser I have been building.

Second place award!

 

The judges said they liked the simplicity and the high level of craftsmanship as well as the attention to detail. After entering my Rose Table  a couple years ago, this was really on the total opposite end of the spectrum in regards to style! In fact my 9 year old son was trying to convince me that I needed to put an inlay in the top of the dresser the day before we delivered it to the show! He kept on saying, “Dad, you’re not going to win anything!”

Again I was humbled to receive the award especially in the presence of such other extremely fine crafted and designed pieces.

It was also a pleasure to meet Doug Stowe. The judges assured all of us that they had no idea who made each piece while they were judging, the show staff removed all artist information from the piece prior to the judging.

In my next post I will share pictures of some of the other award-winning pieces.

Frank Strazza

4 Responses to 7 Drawer Dresser Wins an Award!

  1. Mark G November 11, 2014 at 2:03 PM #

    Congratulations! Well deserved!

  2. Bill McCaffrey November 11, 2014 at 3:04 PM #

    Congratulations!

    I would think that the quality and background of the judges has a lot to do with how pieces are viewed. A few years back there were some industrial pieces (machine produced) that won some of the key awards. The pieces were of good quality, but lacked the warmth that comes from a craftsman.

    Great job!

    Bill

  3. Larry Bevill November 12, 2014 at 10:33 AM #

    I am happy and proud for you. You are a proven Master and a great man. Glad to call you my friend and teacher.

  4. Ken White November 12, 2014 at 10:06 PM #

    I watched the build progress with great interest and admiration. I’m not sure I could have found the courage to cut those sliding dovetails 2 hours before delivery! They came out perfectly!

    Well-deserved win. Congratulations Frank. A gorgeous work of art.