Cazenovia Artisans has announced as its newest member woodworker Dave Eichorn, who is known around Central New York as a retired television meteorologist. Eichorn’s woodwork is displayed at Cazenovia Artisans, 29 Albany St., Cazenovia as of July 1.
Eichorn, a self-taught woodworker, has been collecting wood and building furniture in his basement shop for over 30 years. Staying true to the strict principle of quality furniture, he incorporates mortise and tenon joinery into his pieces while at the same time allowing the inherent beauty of each piece of wood to dictate the final design. The furniture he creates is never stained. The unusual patterns and varying colors are all natural.
His wood comes from all over the world and includes both domestic species and exotic woods. Being aware of the importance of responsible and sustainable forest management, all new acquisitions of exotic woods are from suppliers and importers who hold true to these practices.
Cazenovia Artisans (originally called The Shop at Common Grounds) was born in November 2002 in an 800-square-foot space on Sullivan Street with the help of their landlord, Bob Hood. The original 14 members came together, organized and put together a gallery of quality local arts and crafts in a three-week period.
Learning on the fly, the members dealt with the legalities and financial intricacies of running a retail shop. They received much welcome help from the Cazenovia Chamber of Commerce, SCORE (retired business folks), Handwork in Ithaca (another artist co-op) and from Hood.
Nine months later, Cazenovia Artisans became a legal entity and about a year later moved into their current location on Albany Street. This all started because of an article in the local newspaper announcing that Bob Hood would like to help a new business get started in Cazenovia.
While fabric artist Sue Ellen Romanowski is the only remaining original member, they now have 23 members. A current list of members, photos of their work and more information about the gallery can be found at cazenoviaartisans.com
This year Cazenovia Artisans is celebrating their 15-year anniversary and will be having a reception in the fall and would like to invite all to check the webpage for the dates, which will be announced soon.
