Clinton News-Record, 1975-03-27, Page 13tonr, two
Seco!,Section
Clinton,
Ontario
110th Year ..'o: 13
Thursday, March 27, 1975
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Plumtree of Clinton
Cra ts o jackand Catheiinebrotheranare in much demand
exhibition,
-1.
his fingers intertwined
John (Jack) Plumtree of Catinton yellow herine around histcrossed legs as he talks.
does wood -turning; Ca
Plumtree does needlepoint. Five A man with a ready smile, he isn't
years ago this October, brother and much of a talker, but length about
e
sister pooled their talents together did speak
and his wood -turning.
and made their first footstool. himself
Twenty footstools , later, the Mr. Plumtree is dressed in his
Plumtraes find their supply of working uniform, concists of a
resemblance
footstools cannot keep up with the hat that bears aslight
public's demand for them. to a train engineer's cap, and a
A layer of sawdust carpets the soiled tan smock whish covers his
little room at the back of a garage on street n lothes.
Glenavon, Saskatchewan,
Albert Street that serves as Mr.
Plumtree's workshop. The smell of the 66 -year-old Mr. Plumtree moved
wood hangs heavy in the air, and all east with his mother and
sister
kinds of chisels adorn the walls of during scarce, the
so ., awhen an opportunity
s
what' used. to be a bakery. apprentice to a
Plumtree sits in a straight-backed came around to app
Clinton barber, Mr. Plumtree took
said his first' big show
He eventually came to open his was in Carlow, north of Goderich. He
it. days has attended various craft shows
own shop and his barbering since.then. Among the more
grew into 30 years-. A bad heart andt•
bad nerves forced him to retire ifl h Clinton1963, but instead of restini, Mr.
Plumtree began to spend more of his
time on his hobby - woodworking. "I
always liked tinkering around with
things," he said.
Mr. Plumtree began repairing old
furniture and bought himself the
little shop he now occupies.
furniture
uts
ads into various paper
in need of repair, and has come to
build up quite.a clientele. Antique
dealers provide Mr. Plumtree with
75 percent of his repair work. His
workmanship has been engaged by
dealers in Stratford and Galt, and by
word of mouth, his reputation grows
day by day.
Most of the antiques brought to
Mr. Plumtree have been
rediscovered in attics ad barns and
ns to
range from grandfather
large chests of drawers. ndDany where
ending
on the job, he will p
from a half hour to a day and a half
restoring an object. M
tree
will just about repair anything, but
he said that he wouldn't touch "the
odd piece of junk" that is beyond
restoration.
Through his furniture repairs, he
came to try his hand at woodturning.
Working with a lathe and chisels,
Mr. Plumtree began turning out egg
cups, candle holders and small
vases. "Last year my income was
evenly divided between furniture
repairs and wood turning," he said,
but this year he is doing more repair
work which he firi'ds to be the more
challenging of the two.
Mr., Plumtree works with walnut,
because he says it is the finest
quality wood available. He Halloo
works with cherry and occasio Y
maple.
He first exhibited his work six or
seven years ago
'A couple of girls, one a potter,
and the other an artist, bought a
school up north near Blyth and
began teaching crafts. I had done
some work for them,' and they in-
vited me to exhibit some of my
wood -turnings at their craft show."
Mr. Plumtree, who display
between 60 and 70 pieces at an
memorable ones, he men ions
Spring Show Day at the i
Arena, Port Credit, and Bolton,
north of Toronto. He used to cover
about six craft shows during the
summer, but he is finding he is short
of time in making enough things for
so many exhibitions. Mr., Plumtree
is now limiting himself this year to
two - Clinton, and Saltford (formerly
Carlow).
Most of his sales have been
transacted in his shop, and though
he is happy in his inconspicuous
location, Mr. Plumtree said he
wouldn't mind a shop that opened
out onto the main street. He prices
his own merchandise, taking into
account themany hours he has spent
on his craftwork. An egg cup costs $2
to $3, and the most expensive item,
the footstool, sells 'for $75. This is
where Mr. Plumtree's sister
Catherine, his junior by two years,
enters the picture.
Miss Plumtree, who' has always
knitted and crocheted, took up
needlepoint in 1970. While
recovering from a cold, she read a
book on needlepoint and became so
interested in the craft that she or-
dered herself a beginner's kit. "I
began making needlepoint pictures
to show off John's round picture
frames," the small soft-spoken,
Miss Plumtree said. "Later on, he
began making footstools to show off
my needlepoint. it's surprising how
well we compliment each other's
work."
Miss Plumtree is quick to point out
that her brother's Work is all
originally designed. "Mine may be
beautiful, but the beauty and design
has been done by expe-ts,"
She finds the best market for her
needlepoint along with her brother's
wood -turnings. Two of the Plumtree
footstools have made their way to
England and Scotland as wedding
presents, she said. Most of their
footstools have been sold to people
who originally came to Mry Plum-
' tree's shop looking for something
else.
Along with her footstools, she also
displays her knitted goods. "I was
displaying a dress and jacket that I
had just complgted for myself, when
a American woman made an offer to
buy them. She hadn't brought
enough warm clothing with her and
•wanted the outfit so badly, she paid
(continued on page 4A)
in a back
A sign, hand -made by Jack himself, hangs alevidence of Jack's wwhere some of the
behind Albert Street. It is the�only visible
turned out.
finest wood crafts in thispa
It takes many hours of turn a stick of wood into a fine piece
of furniture but Jack has the patience and the knowledge. Here he works at one of
his favorite tools, the wood lathe.
tedious,
loving
labour
to
siorg 14Intis‘
hots by Jim Fitzerald
Jack
dis la s a few of the 40 -bannister spindles he is turning out to
duplicate proudly playin Cnton.
u licate the originals of a staircase in an oldehome iitate them perfectly.
tedious,
h they are
not made out of the same wood as the originals, they
There aren't enough words available to describe the duality
and fine workmanship that goes into each and every piece of
• -work that Jack turns out. Pictured above are Just a few of the
-Mal walnut items that Jack makes. They rage from flower
vases to egg cups, to candle holders, and salt and pepper
shakers. All are unique items.
• Although Catherine's ne0dlepoIat May be taken from someone
etse's design, it shows as Feat a talent as any original work
would. later needlepoint on Jack's footstools has found its way to
•
the United Kingdom where it was given as a unique wedding
present. Because it is just a hobby; Catherine dislikes -taking
orders for her work.
444