Portfolio – Christopher Adami-Sampson

This semester has been filled with new experiences, new skills, and a lot of effort.

From the start I knew I wanted my projects to involve wood, I didn’t fully know exactly what I wanted to create going in, especially for the Main Project but I knew I wanted to take full use of the Makerspace in the IdeaForge. I have always liked woodworking, as a kid I would love when my dad would be working on a project and the basement would be filled with the smells of sawdust and finishes. So with that in mind I dove straight into the ideation process of what I wanted to make this semester, and honestly the upcycle project was an easy choice for me, at the start of the semester I had had Professor Knutsen’s  Native American Flute for a bit under a year and while learning to play it had gotten tired of just having it sit on my dresser. So I began the journey of designing a wall mount for it so that it could be stored out of harms way, but I struggled to come up with an aesthetic that I could apply to this piece. I decided I wanted it to be simple with very subtle carvings, and so I kind of made my own aesthetic for that piece. While this woodworking project had some flaws, most of which the viewer can’t see which is good, I still am super proud of how it came out because it is exactly how I imagined it at the start. Two little birds holding up the flute and suspending it away from any surfaces.

The main project was a much bigger struggle to determine what I wanted to make, I was going in between a tile lamp, a wooden smoker box, and finally a nightstand. And after a lot of deliberation and thinking I landed on a nightstand, this mostly came down to the fact that once I graduate I wouldn’t have access to the woodshop anymore so I couldn’t easily make the nightstand after I graduate, but I could make the lamp. And the smoker box after some research would only be able to smoke cheeses, fish, and other things that are ‘cold smoked.’ So with those restrictions and accessibility issues the nightstand was the choice for me, but at the time I didn’t realize how much work it would take.

I new I wanted to use cherry again for the main project and decided on a aesthetic first this time, which I feel like is how one should create in this class especially. I chose mid century modern because I really like the elegance yet simplicity of the style, and it wouldn’t require too much fancy carving or other processes. I designed the piece, met with Josh Colyer at the Makerspace, made some adjustments, and thought it would take maybe 50 hours to make, Of course it took closer to 100 in the end but I am honestly so fine with the time commitment I put towards this project as it allowed me to just have more time on the tools and processes that I will use in the future to make more projects.

The nightstand came out “imperfect” in terms of the CAD/design but perfect for me as I have been able to separate myself a bit from my perfection and let go small mistakes whenever possible. This has been one of the most gratifying projects I have done in College, just the sheer amount of hours, and the fact that I did every single step, learning along the way. I am so proud of what I have accomplished this semester and look forward to my future in woodworking, whenever that can start again. I hope I can find a local woodshop I can use or start accumulating my own tools, but it will take a while. I am sad to have a hiatus from the craft but it will just make it extra exciting when I can pick it back up. Below you can find a catalogue of all of my posts from this semester:

Upcycle Project

Upcycle Project Aesthetic:

Upcycle Progress:

Opposite Upcycle Aesthetic:

Upcycle Design:

Main Project

Main Project Plans and Inspirations:

Main Project Aesthetics:

Main Project Design Preview:

Top 5 Specifications and Constraints of the Main Project:

Main Project Progress:

Main Project Report Part 1 – Design:

Main Project Report Part 2 – Fabrication:

If you have followed along on my projects I want to say thank you very much, I appreciate it. I also want to thank Josh Colyer for all of the work he has helped me with.