Naked Table Past Events
2023 Naked Table Project benefitting Vermont Habitat for Humanity
Vermont State House Lawn, Montpelier
September 24, 2023 9 am - 6 pm
NAKED TABLE x YESTERMORROW
SEPTEMBER 17, 2022
Naked Table forest to furniture feast ad fundraiser for Yestermorrow Design/Build School in partnership with ShackletonThomas. 100% of the proceeds benefited Yestermorrow's mission to create a better and more sustainable world by providing hands-on education that integrates design and craft as a creative, interactive process.
The day started on the Yestermorrow campus in Waitsfield, Vermont by building the tables. Following a delicious vegetarian lunch prepared by the staff, we were lead on a forest walk lead by Nick Zandstra, sustainable logger and carpenter as well as instructor at Yestermorrow who lead the students in the harvesting the maple used for the tables.
THE TABLE WORKSHOP
Started by Charles Shackleton and the workshops of ShackletonThomas, The Naked Table workshops are led by master furniture makers, giving careful instruction over the course of the first workshop day. Participants learn about a sustainable approach to furniture making, how to prepare and assemble its mortise and tenon joinery, and how to finish their tables to look their best. Each participant quickly immerses themselves into the process of making their table, feeling empowered to make and to know the process.
Each table in the workshop is finished with one of Vermont’s most sustainable and innovative products, a whey-based finish made by Vermont Natural Coatings. Whey, a by-product of cheese making, is used to create a protective film finish to last a lifetime.
THE FOREST WALK
To fully understand the process of sustainably making furniture, you must go into the forest. Guided by expert foresters and sawyers, we take the participants on a tour through the forest where the iconic Sugar Maple trees were harvested for the table workshop. Past walks have included the nearby lands of Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park, the birthplace of sustainable forestry in America. The tour describes how to identify Sugar Maples and their qualities for furniture making, low impact forestry principles, and demonstrations on horse-drawn logging. It’s a critical fresh-air break from the workshop that will change the way you see furniture and your local woods forever.
THE NAKED TABLE LOCAVORE LUNCH
What’s a bunch of tables without sharing a feast together? As tradition now has it, the table makers, along with the community, all sit down to their tables to share a meal made completely of locally grown and prepared ingredients. It’s a time to celebrate the good work, the food, the community, and the process.