One of our favorite places is the Windsor Chair Makers near my parents' house in Maine. They make all sorts of beautiful, Shaker-inspired furniture right there in their shop. And they have an entire house as a showroom that you can wander through and see all of the furniture set up like it would be in a real house.
The house itself is lovely with plank floors, small square-paned windows, exposed beams and large brick fireplaces.
It's fun visiting their shop because you can walk around and look at pieces that are in the process of being made and if you visit during work hours they're happy to stop and explain the process to you.
In their showroom they have three or four of their competitors' Windsor chairs that you can try out side by side. The difference is astonishing! I did not expect to notice such a huge difference, but their chairs just seem to hug your body to the chair and support it so comfortably.
They hollow out the seat in just such a way that it supports you rather
than having your body slide forward or your lower back not be
supported. They really are exceptional chairs.
Some day I plan on having two of these chairs, one for each end of the table Clay made.
