Main Project

For my main project this semester, I set out to create a piece that blended personal history, craftsmanship, and aesthetic storytelling. My original concept was to build an Adirondack-style ski chair using old skis from my dad’s collection. My dad, a lifelong skier since the late 1980s, has spent decades gathering vintage skis with the hope of one day making a chair out of them. As someone who’s been skiing since I was three years old, this project was intended to celebrate our shared passion for skiing and capture the bold, nostalgic vibe of ‘90s ski culture. The aesthetic I envisioned was adventurecore or athleisure—something that would feel equally at home on a mountain lodge deck or beside a snowy trail. I planned to finish the project and give it to my dad as a gift, closing a loop on a project idea he’d carried for years.

However, early in the process, I encountered a challenge. When I brought up my plan, my dad mentioned he still wanted to use those old skis for a project we could work on together down the line. That changed my course, and I needed to find a new direction that still carried personal meaning and a strong aesthetic identity. I pivoted to creating a rustic wooden Adirondack chair using materials that tied into my community and environment (Image (1) and Featured Image). I sourced wood from a neighbor’s tree that was being taken down, an opportunity to give discarded natural material a new life (Image 2).

My new aesthetic leaned into a rustic, upcycled look—similar to my first project in this course—but with a fresh focus on natural textures and organic shapes. The first image I included in my presentation is a screenshot of my initial CAD sketches for the ski chair (Image 3).

These drawings show my original concept with skis forming the chair’s backrest and seat, a visual reminder of where this project began.

The manufacturing process for the wooden chair presented its own unique challenges. I started by cutting the raw wood into workable pieces, first using an axe and then refining the shapes on a band saw. I sourced additional materials like screws and bolts from a local hardware store. Each piece of wood had to be individually measured, cut, and sanded to size. I also removed bark by hand, sanding the surfaces smooth while preserving some of the natural irregularities in the wood. Building the chair felt a lot like constructing a small log cabin, with careful attention to where each joint and hole would be placed to ensure a solid, balanced structure.

One idea I considered during the build was adding a moving element—a wooden rocker to the base of the chair. While I wasn’t able to complete that feature before the semester ended, it remains a goal for future improvement. The second image in my presentation shows the tree I used as a material source for the chair, while the third image captures the completed chair itself. Seeing the final product come together from raw wood to functional furniture was a rewarding experience, and the visual record of the process adds meaning to each step.

Looking ahead, I’d like to revisit the original ski chair idea, potentially sourcing old skis through Facebook Marketplace or ski swaps. One option would be to remove the backrest from my current chair and replace it with skis, creating a hybrid Adirondack design that combines both parts of this project’s story. This project has reinforced the importance of adaptability in design and the value of making meaningful, personal work from the materials and opportunities around you.

Chat GPT was used in the process of writing this article.

Works Cited:

Image 1: A picture I took of the final product.

Image 2: An image I took of the tree I used to make the chair.

Image 3: An initial sketch I made for the initial design phase of this project.