Frank Wright, Spoonmaker, Rhubarb Farmer.
106 Coffee Street E.
Lanesboro, Minnesota 55949
cell: 507-467-3376
I was born in
Detroit, Michigan in 1948 and my woodworking apprenticeship spanned the
1950’s. My neighbor, Mr. Hamill, a
foreman at the General Motors patternmaking shop, kept me supplied with
beautiful odd-shaped blocks of rock maple. They flowed endlessly from the
massive band saws of his artisans who built solid wood mockups of the cars of
the future. Like a little elf I
searched my pile of blocks to find the mirror image forms. I topped them with thin boards and well
pounded nails to create my idiosyncratic line of footstools. My aunt Ida used one of these in her
kitchen for 50+ years.may still be using one
Finding the
beauty and utility within the discarded served me well then as it does
today. These blocks were for me
what the Froebel Blocks were to my colorful namesake, Frank Lloyd Wright, who
reminisced fondly regarding their influence on his work. I too had toy blocks to play with, my
favorite being Lincoln Logs, invented by FLW’s son John Lloyd Wright. After a few decades of production, he sold them to
Playskool who continues to make them
today.
Today though is
about spoons, chopsticks and other utensils, my livelihood since 1992. The spoons stood immediately. I had been working on a series of
tabletop sculptures whose verticality leapt into the first spoons I roughed out
from firewood on the band saw. Had
I started making spoons 3 months earlier there is every reason to believe none
would be standing today. Just as
biological genes move and recombine within organisms this design ‘meme’ of
verticality moved from experimental sculpture to functional spoon. The wonderful visual and word play made
possible by standing spoons has become my signature. If I were a bad headline writer (which I guess I am)
I’d say “Signature Sesquipedalian Spoons Stood Serendipitously”.
My personal
antennae for what I call ‘verticality in quotidian objects’ have become
acute. I enjoy tracking this in
food presentation, in objects such as the Philippe Starck standing fly-swatter,
the Koziol standing pasta server and new instances every year. It is hard to
imagine a world without standing wood spoons. I may be the sole practitioner of vertical spoons at the
moment but I expect them to become commonplace as others adapt this technique
to their personal style of spoon-making.
I gather the
wood I use for my spoons and utensils from mostly local native and ornamental
species. Odd logs and blocks
of wood arrive occasionally from afar thanks to friends and customers with a
good eye for bits of comely wood in need of a second career. I rarely use lumber since lovely wood
from yard, orchard, roadside and surrounding forest is enough. I have a modest supply of exotic woods
for chopsticks and other small items, much of it deeply discounted ‘scrap’ from
wood dealers acquired during my art fair travel days. I don’t think I’ve purchased a piece of lumber in the last
ten years.
All of my work
from design to completion is free hand.
There is no mechanical duplication involved. I have no ‘elves’ in my employ. I use hand-held and bench mounted power tools extensively--
Band saws, die grinders, drill presses, all manner of personally designed
sanding, finishing, and polishing equipment. I love power tools and have since college summers working in
steel mills and auto plants. They
stand between me and carpal tunnel syndrome.
I’d be remiss if
I didn’t thank Jim Huppert and his ‘abrasive nerds’ at 3M here in Minnesota for their generous assistance to a struggling
spoon-maker in 1992. Their expertise transformed menial effort to meaningful work. Without them I don’t know how I could
have designed and made such attractive and useful utensils. Even my frugal family and friends
can afford to use and enjoy them.
My work is
finished with edible walnut oil and beeswax. Those clever little green rings on my pairs of chopsticks
are pure latex rubber bands you can get for a penny apiece at your friendly
farm store. They otherwise are
used to neuter various animals as well as dock the tails of lambs. They are the last remnant of my
veterinary career prior to spoon-making. If you have these chopsticks you may
notice under the ring there is a light blemish. This occurs with some woods. It is because the ring shields the wood from the darkening
exposure of light and air. Also
the oil in the wood is attracted to rubber. Despair not.
Use and random ring placement will eliminate this in time. I’ve accepted this quirk of materials
and hope you can do the same.
I encourage you
to use these utensils. Cook! Serve!! Eat!!! Fondle
them if you must!!!! Spoons increase in charm and warmth with
the wear and patina of use. Refer
to the care card included with them.
Like many of us, some of these utensils are on their second and third
career--tree to barn beam to spoon.
Service is what they know. Occasionally bad things happen to good
spoons. Should that happen to one
of yours send it back to me and I will repair or replace it. Like people, spoons occasionally go to
pieces and are always worth the effort to make whole. This is a lifetime warranty. My lifetime, that is.
For many years I
labored in the vineyards of retail art fairs and wholesale marketplaces. Now I
am able to retail solely through my Coffee Street shop. I am grateful to the many art fair
patrons and gallery owners who have supported me in the past. It is a blessing to travel less, garden
more and have unhurried conversations with friends old and new. My life is bursting with
luxury. I have health, family,
friends, delightful work and a beautiful town and vibrant community to live
in. It is a wonderland of morel
mushrooms, theatre, art, limestone bluffs, potluck suppers, trout streams,
books, fabulous home cooking, forests, trails, farms, cattle, fine neighbors,
and respectful visitors.
Did I mention
Rhubarb? Lots of rhubarb. Please stop by my workshop should
you find me there on your next visit to Lanesboro.
Bon Appetit!
Hours: Thurs –
Sat.: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Sunday
10-4.
Other days of the
week by chance or appointment. Feel free to track me
down via cell (507-467-3376) if I am not in my
shop.
My shop will close
permanently on December 5, 2013 at 8:52PM, the moment I turn 65. Rhubarb cultivation and promotion is slowly, inexorably,
taking over my life. Thank
goodness my wife Peggy Hanson is one of the famous Rhubarb Sisters and bakes a
fabulous rhubarb pie.
