Melita has created some great exhibits. Sometimes she invites in speakers to expand on the topics. There was a secret service agent who talked about counterfeit money, a speaker from Crane & Co. whose family has made the U.S. currency paper for generations, and the FBI agent I blogged about here.
Her latest exhibit features handcrafted furniture from one of the top artisan schools in the world, North Bennet Street School.
Founded in 1885 to teach practical skills and English to poor immigrants, it has evolved into a range of activities, including a two-year program for those who want to get serious about jewelry making, carpentry, cabinet and furniture making, locksmithing, bookbinding, piano technology, or violin making. (More on the programs, here.)
The speakers for this exhibit gave an overview of the school and answered specific questions about furniture making.
One project that was described was second-year students’ assignment to make a writing desk and a chest of drawers to go in the Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst. The museum wanted replicas because the originals are archived at Harvard.
Below you see the students with the originals and the carefully constructed replicas before the latter were sent for finishing.
I include a link to the jewelry making, since after all, this is a blog for Suzanne’s jewelry company, Luna & Stella.
Suzanne's Mom's Blog 