David Klingler

I grew up near Chattanooga, TN, nailing boards together from an early age in my grandfather’s woodshop. An ample supply of Legos kept me curious about how the universe was assembled. The love of patterns and design brought me to college pursuing a Mechanical Engineering degree and a fledgling beard. My student years ended, my beard was full and corporate life was disappointing.

With the generous help of my loving parents, I turned back to woodworking. My brother and I outfitted a workshop in the backyard and started a two-man “habitat enhancement” business engaged in home repairs and landscaping. A move to Folly Beach, SC found me still searching for how the universe works and brought me in contact with Brandy Clements, fresh from Chair Caning Boot-camp with her Aunt Linda.

Brandy and I began working on chair caning projects together while planning a cross-country move to Bellingham, WA. A layover in Asheville, NC turned into a love affair and a feeling of “Home” that continues to be intoxicating. A chair caning website, launched to advertise Brandy’s “side project,” soon crowded our house with chairs to be repaired and packed our hearts with aspirations. In 2010, we opened Planet Art in Asheville’s River Arts District with the thought that chair caning could be a small part of a larger project including a resident artist rotation and picture framing…but the chairs would not be forced into a corner and quickly took over the entire shop! Our vision for a chair caning school and museum began to take shape and in 2015 we followed the chairs into a larger space and a new adventure!

Chair caning, coupled with running the business, brings together a life-long love of learning, working with my hands, problem solving, process refinement and a demented pattern fetish. Too good to be true! The little time I have away from weaving chairs and crunching numbers is spent surrounded by books, stringed instruments and puppets…all to be included in a future adventure, yet to be determined…

Dave Klingler and Brandy Clements run the nation's only chair caning school & museum, Silver River Center for Chair Caning, in Asheville, NC. With over 5,000 chairs woven between the two of them, they are considered experts in their field. They teach both in-person and online at the shop in the River Arts District, as well as on location at JCCFS, Arrowmont, and Penland. They travel the country spreading the love of chairs across the land, speaking at museums and craft shows, teaching kids, adults, and anyone who finds themselves in their presence. Silver River is an official education center of the Southern Highland Craft Guild. Find them on YouTube and Instagram @SilverRiverChairs or visit www.SilverRiverChairs.com to learn more.