Nick Offerman's Blog, page 2

Nick talks about his love for plywood in Newsweek

Nick Offerman writes about his love affair with plywood, which is finally getting its due in a major exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Find out about the full affair from building houses to making theatrical sets.

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Set building skills put to the test with a mini-golf course

[image error]Last month I landed my dream job–I got to help artist Rosten Woo build  a mini-golf course for a public exhibition called “The Back 9” in downtown LA.  Dreamy not only because of the necessary “research” trips to the Sherman Oaks Castle Park, but also because I got to tap into old techniques and materials from my set-building and interactive exhibit building days. [image error]It’s been years since I got to say the words “wiggle wood” let alone bend a sheet of it around a curved platform and trim it to size with a jig saw. Not to mention the long forgotten joys of 1/8″ tolerances, paint grade finishes, and drywall screws! Ahhhh[image error] [image error]But besides being a nice reprieve from fine furniture building, the best thing about working on this project was its dynamic social impact.  Woo was commissioned by the Los Angeles Poverty Department (LAPD, irony intended) to design a golf course which would function both as a set for LAPD community theater performances and as a stand alone educational tool for the general public. Through each of the nine holes on the course, players explore a different aspect of local zoning laws and how they have affected housing access, density and wealth distribution in the Skid Row neighborhood. The project has gotten a lot of great press, which means it not only is bringing needed attention to a complex issue, but it is actually having an impact on how current zoning policy is being made.[image error]The Back 9 is playable and open to the public on Thursday, Friday, Saturday from 2-5pm from now until October 28 at The Skid Row History Museum & Archive, 250 S. Broadway, Los Angeles CA 90012. You can also contact LAPD at info@lapovertydept.org to set up group tours for friends or colleagues on off hours.

To read more about Offerman Woodshop’s involvement in Skid Row, see the Mobile Skid Row Outreach Carts in our portfolio, or read Matty’s blog post about our collaborations with the Skid Row wood working social enterprise, Would-Works.

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Set building skills put to the test with a mini-golf course

Written by Lee: Last month I landed my dream job–I got to help artist Rosten Woo build a mini-golf course for a public exhibition called “The Back 9” in downtown LA. Dreamy not only because of the necessary “research” trips to the Sherman Oaks Castle Park, but also because I got to tap into old techniques and materials from my set-building and interactive exhibit building days. It’s been years...

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‘Making It’: Nick’s new show with Amy Poehler

Woodworkingnetwork.com wrote an article about Nick & Amy’s new reality TV Show “Making It” on NBC. Nick Offerman & Amy Poehler to host ‘Making It’ reality show An upcoming reality TV series from NBC will celebrate artisanship and makers who build amazing things with their hands. Hosted by both Nick Offerman and Amy Poehler, the unscripted, competitive reality show has...

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Touring the Wood Shop with Nick on ‘This Old House’

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Jane on Paper Chase Press blog

Our resident light designer Jane Parrott spoke with our favorite LA local printshop Paper Chase Press about creative inspiration and her magic desk! See the whole article here.

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Nick talks with Sotheby’s

Nick’s talks with Sotheby’s, full interview here.

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Offerman Woodshop Pleasure Faire was a hit!

Thanks to everyone who joined us for the–dare I say, first annual?–Offerman Woodshop Pleasure Faire last weekend! For those of you live in farther corners/greener pastures and weren’t able to attend, here is some of the evening’s flavors in digital form.  Still hungry? Well there’s always next year.

Angel City Lumber generously hosted this event in their newly (and gorgeously) renovated shop/lumberyard/showroom. It was the perfect venue for all of the evening’s attractions–including a furniture show exhibiting local woodworkers from Allied Woodshop, Offerman Woodshop, Wheeler Made, and other friends in craft.

In the adjoining outdoor lot, Charles and Thomas demonstrated the milling of a local salvaged Live Oak tree on the Lucas Mill.  While this activity perhaps offended some ears, it definitely pleased some noses.

Laura Zahn of Allied Woodshop taught eager guests to use the drill press, sanding, and finishing equipment as they created their very own OWS tea candle holder out of a local Silver Maple tree milled here at Angel City Lumber last year.

Lie Nielson Tool Works showed off their exquisite hand tools with the help of Nathaniel Hill of Allied Woodshop who turned visitors on to the pleasures of hand planing and dovetail joinery.

After having our fill of sawdust, shaved ice, and grilled cheese sandwiches, we gathered for some songs with the author.

Along with short readings, excerpts, and a pledge from the shop’s other participating authors: Matty, Lee, Josh, Thomas, Krys, and Jane

 

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OWS & Popular Mechanics bring green space to LA public school

This past spring, as part of an article for Popular Mechanics, OWS got the opportunity to do a little community outreach: building and installing redwood planter boxes at the lovely Augustus F. Hawkins High School in South LA.

Nick, Matty, and I trekked down the 110 with a truckload of redwood and tools, and soon we had a whole crew of eager high schoolers under our command.  Needless to say, we were stern taskmasters, and we whipped that project out with ruthless efficiently and in record time.  Hold on, that never happens!  Instead, we had a lot of fun and went just a teensy bit over schedule, but what’s an hour or two among friends?

Soon, the high school was the proud owner of six lovely redwood planters filled with rich loam and two cubic yards of leftover dirt.  Augustus F. Hawkins, which is a far cooler high school than any of us at the shop attended, has big plans for the planters this year.  Here are the main projects, courtesy of Assistant Principal Ashley Englander:

—  Shovel Buddies- A group of four students who helped install the beds are in the process of founding a gardening club called Shovel Buddies. Their mission is to help their peers and themselves transform their relationship to food, their environment and to enjoy the mediative and healing aspects of growing food.

—  Our Community Health Advocates School students will incorporate the gardens into their Re-build Health LA Project. This urban planning project integrates geography, biology and English in order to give students an urban planning experience. They will learn about how public health interacts with design and the significance of green space in urban environments. As part of this project they will grow food and native plants and include this knowledge in their culminating activity of redesigning an intersection in their neighborhood.

—  Our Responsible Indigenous Social Entrepreneurship students will garden as a part of their urban ecology unit. This unit asks them to understand resources in urban environments and innovate solutions to common social issues such as food deserts, environmental racism, pollution, and poor health and nutrition. Their garden will inform their understanding of how to use urban assets to solve urban problems. They will also be responsible for designing entrepreneurial uses for the food and plants they grow.

—  Our Critical Design and Gaming Students will combine Biology with Design in designing sustainable school gardens. The raised beds will make their ecology studies real, and they will be challenged to design the use of space in a way that is sustainable, viable and aesthetically engaging.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Routing the Paddle Blade

Routing the paddle blade bonus online segment from Good Clean Fun, download the PDF here.

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