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Who would have thought that a 330 pound, long haired tattooed biker would become a Windsor chairmaker? That is a question that many of his friends and customers have asked Ralph Quick. Why Windsor chairs? It all started about 8 years ago when Ralph was in a serious truck driving accident. He drove an 18 wheeler for Federal Express. Ralph broke his left leg in a dozen places. He had crushed ribs, broken fingers and cuts from glass all over his face. He was a mess, but lucky to be alive. Ralph's career as a truck driver was over.
They both chop out the seat blanks, drawknife and spoke shave spindles and steam bend any chair parts needed, working together to create a Windsor chair. All chairs are constructed with up to four types of wood consisting of White Pine for the seat, Hickory or Maple for the legs and Red Oak for the spindles, arms and bows when required. The Windsor Chair Shop is located in Historic Clarksville, a quaint little town along the Mississippi River. They are located there along with many other very talented artisans in the Historic Shopping District. Clarksville claims to be the last town in the state with a downtown that still faces the river, and it also includes many historic homes, fine antiques stores, and specialty shops that are within walking distance of one another and the Mississippi River. "We all care about each other, and that's what it's all about," Caron says of their community. Caron and Ralph both love what they do. Caron says, "We will probably be making Windsor chairs until we are 90. What a wonderful way to spend your golden years creating the antiques of the future." The Windsor Chair Shop
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Windsor
Chair Shop - Ralph & Caron Quick
After
his accident he badly needed something else in his life. After about
two years of rehab, he and his wife Caron started looking for another
profession that would enable him to sit or stand when needed. In 1998
when Caron was reading an issue of Early American Life magazine, she
read a feature about The Windsor Institute in Hampton, New Hampshire.
It was a school that taught people to make Windsor chairs by hand
the old fashioned way. Caron enrolled Ralph in the class and he returned
after a week with his first chair and a grin ear to ear, he was hooked.
After five years of school they decided to make Windsor Chairs full
time and opened their business in 2002. They joined the Best Of Missouri
Hands in 2003 and were chosen by Early American Life magazine as one
of the Top 200 Traditional American Craftsmen for 2004, an honor they
are proud of.
In
their shop, The Windsor Chair Shop, Ralph does most of the physical
work such as splitting the logs and riving the wood. Caron, a chairmaker
too, does most of the carving to the hands and crest for the chairs
when those features are requested by customers. She also does all
of the painting to every chair with old fashioned Milk Paint, a technique
that she also teaches.
