Marc Adams: The Man

MEMORIES WOVEN OF WOOD

On Saturday, August 15, 2009, we packed the car and drove to Purdue University; it was our daughter’s first day of college. As I drove back home I couldn’t help think about the last 18 years. She was just 1 year old when we started the school, so she has truly been involved with MASW from the beginning. We did our first 4-H woodworking project together when she was 10 years old. All I remember is we fought like cats and dogs over who knew more about woodworking. By the end of that project I was ready to put her up for adoption. But somehow her first woodworking entry got a blue ribbon at the county fair and from that moment on she was hooked. Over the next several years we worked together on projects that she chose from some woodworking magazine. Although she still knew a lot more about woodworking than I did, she was now willing to listen to my suggestions before she did it her way. And those ribbons started to say Grand Champion. By the time she was a teenager her 4-H projects started to take on her own design personality. She even periodically came to me for advice: “Dad, when will Michael Fortune be here? I’ve got a question for him.” Through it all she received nine State Fair selections including two State Fair Grand Champions and has had her work shown in two national woodworking publications and one book.

Yeah, I’m proud and I can’t imagine the world without her and I’m sure she has taught me more than I’ll ever teach her. But on my drive home from Purdue I realized that some of the best memories I have with my daughter have been the personal time we’ve spent together in the shop, working together making something with our heads, hands, and hearts.

THERE ARE NO LIMITS

This year will turn the corner on my 30th year as a professional woodworker. It marks my 45th year as a hobbyist. I’ll never forget the excitement when I started; I was just 6 years old when I made my first project—a turned candle stand. Somehow 15 years later I found myself making wooden furniture for a living. Although my shop was just 30 steps from my apartment, I took a packed lunch each day just so I didn’t have to leave. I couldn’t get enough. I worked from early in the morning to late at night, and when I fell asleep I dreamed of bigger projects and new tools to make them with. Today I’m just like that kid I was back in my hair days. Only this time it’s a different kind of excitement. I can’t wait for classes to start in the spring. As a matter of fact, I’ve started a countdown. There has never been a woodworking program that has offered this much diversity—ever! This summer’s schedule is so overwhelming that I would hate to be a student and have to choose. Imagine 80 world-class instructors teaching 140 workshops covering more than 20 different disciplines in just 7 months. It’s definitely going to make your class choice(s) next summer very difficult. As a reminder, we do have extended-stay hotels in the area and it’s perfectly fine to take several classes next summer—there are no limits. Just plan your speech to your spouse so that it starts off with “Honey, I’ve been planning on making you an anniversary present to show you how much I love you, but I want to do it right, so I’ll need a little extra time at MASW this summer.” That should do the job.

Marc Adams

About Marc Adams

MARC ADAMS has been woodworking professionally for more than 28 years. In 1991, he became a technical consultant to the WWPA, SFPA, AHEC, and the U.S. government, representing the United States on International Quality of Furniture Making. His work has appeared in Design Book Six and Design Book Seven, and his shop was featured in The Workshop by Taunton Press. In addition, his work has appeared in many national publications, and has been featured on the front cover of Woodshop News magazine. Marc has worked with the EPA in Washington on current woodworking issues, and has been a panel commentator at the prestigious International Woodworking Fair. Marc has won the Indiana Artist/Craftsman of the Year award three times and periodically does TV and radio talk shows on woodworking topics. He co-authored the book Working With Plastic Laminates and currently consults for both the laminate and adhesive industries. His “Technical Technique” video series is the largest-selling video series in the history of woodworking, and he was recently awarded four “Telly” awards.

Marc just completed an eight-part series on workshop safety for Popular Woodworking magazine and was a judge for the 2008 Veneer Tech Craftsman Challenge Awards and the 2009 AWFS Fresh Wood Student Competition. He lectures nationally for universities, guilds, and trade shows and does train-the-trainer programs for today’s biggest tool manufacturers. In 1998, he was chosen as one of Indiana’s Top 40 Under 40 in the local business community.