Michael Wallace then introduced himself. He is a member of the Sonoma Woodworkers Association. He moved to California in the 1980's, worked at a number of large tech companies, and retired to Sonoma in 2008. He was inspired to take up woodworking watching Norm Abrams build a highboy in 30 minutes.

Michael then spoke about the history and evolution of mid century modern furniture. Thank you to Michael for providing his speaking notes, some of which have been directly included here - in italics. From his notes:

The term "Mid-Century Modern" covers all the "visual" arts from roughly 1945 through 1957 or perhaps later (there is no strong consensus as to the end date). During the production of most of the furniture and other objects (like buildings) of this time, there was no collective name for the things that were being produced other than "modern." It wasn't until the publication of the book, "Mid-Century Modern: Furniture of the 1950s" by Cara Greenberg (Harmony Books,1984), that the name became into being. According to one account, Greenberg created the name on the fly.

It is now recognized as the name that encompasses the works that were being designed and built globally during these years, to include even Danish Modern. There were Mid-Century Modern works done not only in the US and Scandinavia, but France, the UK, Italy, and even Japan.

Mid-century modern furniture had its origins in the German Bauhaus School. One of the iconic Bauhaus furniture pieces was the Wassily chair, created in 1925 by Marcel Breuer. It was a large departure from previous designs and fabricated of just leather and steel, no wood.

Americans got more exposure to modern design at the 1939 New York World's Fair. In 1940, the Museum of Modern Art sponsored a design contest called "Organic Design in Home Furnishings," with top honors going to Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen, instructors at Cranbrook Academy in Michigan.

After a quiet period in furniture production during WWII, furniture manufacturers Herman Miller and Knoll International emerged as industry leaders. The Eames lounge chair and ottoman, designed by Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller, is

recognized as a work of beauty and craft. Crafted in leather and rosewood veneer on molded plywood, the chair became an instant classic. While only a few hundred were built in 1956 when it was introduced, it has been copied and replicated around the world. Herman Miller continues to sell this chair today and is the only company authorized to use the Eames mark on the chair.

During the same period, Knoll International secured the rights to sell Bauhaus furniture in the US. They hired an all star team, including Eero Saarinen, George Nakashima, and Danish designer Jen Risom. The company helped to bring Danish Modern pieces to the American public.

All in all, the ideals of the Mid-Century Modern designers and makers were to sell mass market furniture using materials like molded plywood, foam rubber, steel, etc. The items produced followed the Bauhaus aesthetic of no adornments, simple joinery (in fact most the joints were either dowels or butt joints), use of veneers, and design that facilitates building in a factory.

The Scandinavians brought a level of craft to Mid-Century Modern furniture that was missing from the mass-produced pieces from Herman Miller and Knoll. The recognized father of Danish Modern was Kaare Klint, who created a school for furniture at the Danish Royal Academy, and was followed by many well-known furniture makers, including Hans Wagner, Finn Juhl, and Borge Mogensen. Wegner's most famous piece, simply called "The Chair," became famous because it was used in the first ever televised presidential debate between Kennedy and Nixon in 1960.

According to Cara Greenberg, the Mid-Century Modern era ended in 1957. Herman Miller found that it could not compete against cheap knockoffs, and abandoned the home market. Knoll also concentrated on the corporate market more as well. The market was swinging away from Modern furniture and toward the many alternatives.

Several woodworkers in this later time period, including Sam Maloof, Art Carpenter, and Wharton Esherick, all developed pieces that could be considered part of the Mid-Century Modern aesthetic.

Today, Mid-Century Modern is hot again and doesn't appear to going anywhere any time soon.