Skip to main content
HomeEventsMonthly Club Meeting

Events - Event View

calendar_add_onAdd to Calendar
Before you get started, check out our knowledge base for instructions

Monthly Club Meeting

Date and Time

Wednesday, September 16, 2026, 7:00 PM until 9:00 PM

Category

Monthly Club Meetings

Registration Info

Registration is not Required

About this event


Craig Bender’s career has taken him from New Jersey to California, with stops at UCLA, Bell Labs, AT&T, a startup, and even Rockler, where he gained experience with a suspiciously large variety of tools. His woodworking began decades ago while living in Greenwich Village, where he learned to improvise with whatever materials were available. His early projects included an entertainment center made from discarded futon slats and a seven-foot tripod lamp constructed from branches and concrete—a design decision that, in hindsight, may have been slightly less than ideal.

   
 
Craig’s fascination with lamps has continued to grow. Inspired by artists who combine natural materials with traditional techniques, he creates unique lamps using found wood, roots, branches, rocks, and kozo, a natural fiber used in traditional Japanese lampshades. He has even sold some of his work at the Alameda County Fair, proving that there are people willing to actually pay money for this stuff.

In his presentation, “Necessity (of Light) is the Mother of Invention!”, Craig will explore the inspiration, creativity, and challenges of building lamps. Through photos, finished and unfinished pieces, and demonstrations, he’ll share his techniques, sources for materials, and lessons learned along the way. And yes—he’ll demonstrate why not everything can be glued! Come prepared to look at lighting—and perhaps a few perfectly good pieces of scrap wood—in a whole new way.