In his Starbuck workshop, Paul Johnson has a wood-back chair up on his stand. The chair was in rough shape when it crossed his threshold—a sagging and broken chair bottom rendering the chair unusable. Under Paul’s expert hands, the chair is going to come back to life.

“I've been caning for about 20 years,” says Paul, a former pastor for several churches in Pope County. “I use three caning methods: rushwork that traditionally uses a wound cord made from rushes, a herringbone pattern that uses a flat weave cane, and the traditional caning most folks would recognize based on the little hexagons that emerge in the pattern.”

Paul will be demonstrating his techniques at the Starbuck Vintage & Artisan Market, caning a rocking chair on Friday and Saturday. He’ll also have a chair with each step of caning on display. “It looks a bit of a mess,” he laughs. “But you’ll be able to see how caning forms a beautiful tapestry, one strand at a time.”

Stop by to watch him work and pick up his business card—he does custom caning work on anything from porch swings, chair backs & seats, to ottomans and footstools. “My goal is to restore and repair people’s furniture,” he says.

The 4th Annual Starbuck Vintage & Artisan Market will be held on the shores of Lake Minnewaska in Starbuck’s City Park this weekend. Find artisans, vintage merchants, and food vendors on Friday, August 1st from 4-8 PM and Saturday, August 2nd from 9 AM-4 PM with the Lake Minnewaska Classic Car Show on Saturday from 10 AM-2 PM.