a brief history

In the 1980s I carved a small trout and stuck it on a piece of driftwood. It looked pretty cool. I showed it to my farmer friend. He traded me a piglet for the carving and I was hooked. I soon carved and painted many species of trout and bass, showing them in art shows and galleries.

In 1996 I joined the ShackletonThomas furniture makers as an apprentice. The tradition in Charlie's shop is at the end of a four year apprenticeship the apprentice carves a spoon in return for a certificate. On December 20, 2000, I received a certificate that declares, "Charles G. Ogg has spent the last four years training to make furniture with our company. And in that time the above named has acquired the skills to construct beautifully and efficiently by hand, armoires, chairs, chests, dining tables, beds, etc. in the traditional manner, and has learnt to use hand planes, tenon saws, chisels, spokeshaves, drawknives, etc., and is capable of operating with confidence, table saws, joiners, morticing and tenoning machines, etc., and can be relied upon to pass these skills on to another person. The above had made for us a carved spoon of his own design and we recognize this person as a skilled furniture craftsperson."

Three years later, on December 20th, 2003, I carved a bowl from a solid block of wood in exchange for my seven year certificate at Charles Shackleton Furniture. This certificate declares that "Charles G. Ogg has worked for seven full years. He is now a fully accomplished master craftsperson. He has been trained in the many aspects of operating a small handmade furniture business, and has the ability to go into the world and pass these skills onto others. In return for this certificate he has made for us a wooden bowl of his own design, which we gratefully accept for our company."