Nine George School students and one recent alumnus exhibited their furniture creations, made in the school’s
woodworking and furniture design classes, at The 16th Annual Philadelphia Invitational Furniture Show. Considered the country’s longest-running craft show devoted to furniture and furnishings, the event took place on March 27 and 28, 2010, at the Cruise Ship Terminal in the Philadelphia Navy Yard. The George School exhibit was located among those of professional woodworkers.

Accompanied by George School woodworking and furniture design teacher Carter Sio ’76, the students displayed pieces ranging from tables and chairs to a plant stand, a display shelf, and a blanket chest, made from materials including maple, walnut, poplar, cherry, bamboo, copper, glass, Pennsylvania bluestone, and upholstery.

“This is a national show and the best attended event of its kind on the east coast,” said Carter. “We were the only high school woodworking program represented, and the response to the student work was overwhelmingly positive.”

The exhibited furniture included a display shelf of walnut and Pennsylvania bluestone by Cameron Bentley ’10; an end table with off-center turned maple legs and a free-edged stone top by Lex Darby ’11; a maple coffee table with bent laminated legs and copper accents by Adam Ehmann ’11; a chair made of ash and cherry by recent graduate Won Il Kim ’09; a coffee table made from cherry and bamboo by Max Maloberti ’11; an end table made of turned, carved, and blackened poplar with a free-edged stone top by Kajsa Nelson ’10; a plant stand made of bent veneered walnut and glass by Willa Rowan ’11; an ebonized poplar chair with an upholstered seat made using an original design by Kevin Simone ’11; a maple and walnut blanket chest with hand-cut dovetail construction by Nicholas Simone ’10; and a cherry table by Lucy Shapiro ’11.

The George School Arts Department offers twenty-eight arts courses in ten different arts forms—dance studies, vocal and instrumental music, theater arts, stagecraft and design, ceramics, communication design, painting and drawing, photography, woodworking and furniture design, and video production. The arts curriculum includes Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate course options.

About George School
Founded in 1893 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), George School, a rigorous coed boarding and day school for grades nine through twelve, educates students from twenty-one states, thirty-four foreign countries, and a variety of ethnic, racial, religious, and economic backgrounds. Through its commitment to diversity and the Quaker values of equality, integrity, and peacemaking, George School inspires students to be led by their own truths while respecting and appreciating opinions and beliefs different from their own. George School was one of the first schools in the United States to implement an International Baccalaureate diploma program. For information about admission, please call 215.579.6547 or visit http://www.georgeschool.org.