Remodel: Our New Boggs Rockers by Shea Alexander
On a quiet night
with crickets chirping,
the older man relaxes
on a front-porch rocking chair,
watching beetles
with lanterns
light up the skyby Mark Tulin
Thanks to Shea Alexander @ Alexander Brothers. My little dream of a front porch and rocking chairs has come to reality. About two years ago, I ran across Shea’s feed and started following him after he posted a console table. A piece of furniture I planned on purchasing once we had moved back into the house. Then April of last year, he posted a Boggs style rocking chair, and I fell in love with the styling. The Boggs design origin is by Brian Boggs in the 2010’s, he shares his designs with students to promote sustainability. Chairmaker Jeff Lefkowitz and Alexander Brothers developed a rocking chair version of the Boggs design and offer it on their website.
(Examples Shea Shared)
Initially Shea was suggesting either elm, ash, walnut or cherry. Walnut was out because of California’s UV index, walnut would bleach out pretty quickly. Something we ran into, when I choose to do walnut for the floors in the house. We pivoted on the floor wood choice when my contractor made the same suggestion about using walnut. In the end we settled on a cherry wood for the base of the rockers. Next we moved on to the seat of the rocker. Some of the other rockers designs I have seen are done with a matching wood seat. Shea did one with a woven seat finished with tree bark. He also offered doing the seat with a woven reed. In the end we settled on a hickory bark seat.
Another feature on the original rocker Shea built and shared on instagram. He had carved owls on the top of the two rocker finials. I jumped at the opportunity to add the little critters to our two rockers. Shea offered a short list of animal options for the finials. I had the three kids and Clem pick their favorites from the list. Personally, I loved the original owl that Shea did on the rocker. The twins chose a fox and snake, while Clem and Paley opted for a owl and frog. The choices fit perfectly together.
The Hickory bark seats add more to the handmade look of the rockers. Shea explained the process of the selection and sourcing the bark. It’s an amazing process that still lives on today. The origins of hickory and birch bark has a rich history on the north American continent, thanks to the native american (indigenous) people of North America. The hickory bark comes from the inner portion of the tree bark. Typically harvested 4 weeks a year, in May/June, when the sap running in the trees has warmed up. The bark is stripped and then dried. The drying process is not long, but once the bark is stretched onto the chair frame, it needs to cure in the sunlight for at least 48 hours. Right now there are less than 100 craftmen in the US who know the craft of harvesting the bark. Sadly there are only about 10 craftmen who actually harvest on a yearly basis. As Shea has pointed out, it’s an Apalacian art form that is really getting lost in time. Sadly the process does take time, and there is no real
(photos of the two rockers delivery and sits)
When we received delivery of the rockers, I setup them up quickly on the front patio. It’s a wonderful addition to the house and I truly missed sitting out front these past 2.5 years. During COVID days, many people would see me out on the tiny front porch walking by and on zoom. The front porch was my little office. On those rainy days I would move to our master bedroom. But during those COVID days, I probably had about 70-80 zoom meetings on that little cement front porch..
What’s next. Well, I am already talking with Shea about two new projects for HK5corner. We are desperate for a new console table for our new entry. The second project is a third rocking chair. What I’ve found is the kids love sitting out there now. I am also working on a secondary seating area solution for the front porch, something with cushions. More on that later.
Shea Alexander’s Studio Photo of the two chairs!