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Brandy is a 4th generation chair caner on a mission to promote a "lost art," with 20 years of experience weaving chair seats. Created in 2015, Silver River Center for Chair Caning is an Official Education Center of the Southern Highland Craft Guild and the nation's only chair caning school and museum. The school is operated by Brandy and her husband, David Klingler who is a master weaver, writer, and educator. With combined 35 years experience weaving chair seats, they work to empower everyone to restore their own chairs and encourage furniture makers to incorporate woven seating in their designs. They write books & articles, appear on podcasts, television, and radio to promote what many consider a "dying art."
Their mission: cultivate and inspire a reverence for a world wide chair caning legacy.
Brandy Clements & David Klingler are the director of Silver River Center for Chair Caning, now located at 32 N Main Street in Weaverville, NC.
Brandy is continuing not only a family tradition, but also a world-wide chair caning legacy. She is truly an ambassador of the craft, researching and traveling the US and Europe to cultivate a reverence for this ancient and global craft.
Brandy learned 4 basic styles of weaving from her Aunt Linda, and went on to start a part-time side job restoring caned chairs. After working for furniture refinishers in Asheville and Charleston, she got an Artist In Residence gig at the Grove Arcade Arts and Heritage Gallery. It was seeing the reaction of the visitors that made her realize how special the craft was and it was their questions that began her quest for historical and contemporary knowledge.
Brandy demonstrates regularly with historic homes, craft centers, and gives lectures to furniture and fiber groups. She and her husband, Dave Klingler opened up a small shop in the River Arts District in 2010. She joined the Southern Highland Craft Guild as a heritage member in 2011. Together they wove over 2000 chairs and began to consider teaching the craft to others.
In 2013, Brandy & Dave attended The SeatWeavers' Guild Annual Gathering in Massachusetts. On the way, the stopped off for the night in Pennsylvania. To their surprise a chair exhibit was right around the corner from where they had lunch. It was The Art of Seating, 200 years of American Design. From the moment they saw the exhibit, they knew a chair caning museum was in their future.
In 2015, Go Chair Repair (the restoration business) was rebranded to Silver River Center for Chair Caning and they moved into a 2500 sq ft industrial chic sunlit studio in CURVE Studios & Garden in the River Arts District. They have since taught over 300 sessions to people of all ages, launched over 30 small businesses from their chair weaving school, and have been featured in a number of publications, podcasts, and television shows.
In 2016, they hosted The SeatWeavers' Guild Annual Gathering at the Folk Art Center and brought almost 100 chair caners from across the country to Asheville. Local Southern Highland Craft Guild members who use woven chair seats had their work on display. The related public event invited visitors to try out 5 styles of weaving and fall down the rabbit hole of chair nerd culture.
In 2017 Silver River Center for Chair Caning became an official education center of the Southern Highland Craft Guild. Brandy also traveled to Scotland to study the Orkney Chair. This trip was on the heels of a 2015 trip to England where she was the guest of chair caning scholar Dr. Brian Crossley of The Basketmakers Association who was lecturing at their annual meeting. Yes, it is possible to have a chair-centric vacation. It was followed by another trip to Scotland to study chairs as part of Charles Rennie Macintosh's 150th birthday.
2020 saw the expansion of their Silver River Chairs YouTube Channel which provides free instruction to people from all over the world, regardless of their income or ability to travel for classes. This resources has become invaluable to their business and to the perpetuation of the craft.
In 2024, an epic year in many ways, Silver River hosted Winterhtur's Material Culture PhD students, Penland chairmaking students, CBS Saturday Morning, WNC Magazine, as well as an intern from Finland and guests from Tasmania and Jamaica. The year was cut short by Hurricane Helene and they were able to rebuild in a new location in Weaverville. The unexpected craft sabbatical that resulted from losing their location resulted in professional development workshops with fellow guild members Curtis Buchanan, Marlowe Gates, and Erin Keane, as well as other members of the US craft community including Penny Hewitt, Denise Markbreit, and Andy Glenn.
Most recently Brandy and Dave are excited about their new instructional book, The Woven Chair - Traditional and Modern Chair Seating, published in 2025 by Blue Hills Press. They have also been featured in American Craft Magazine and wrote an article for Mother Earth News. They teach regularly at John C Campbell Folk School & Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts. They will be participating in the Let's Make Program at the American Craft Council Show in Baltimore in Feb 2026. They are available for lectures, demonstrations, and on- and off-site classes in Asheville and around the world.
Visit their @silverriverchairs channel on YouTube for virtual tours, classes, and travelogues!
Visit the nation's only chair caning school and museum by appointment Monday - Friday, 10am-5pm at 32 N Main Street, Weaverville, NC 28787 - downstairs from Five Little Monkeys Quilt & Sew. Visit 24/7 online at www.SilverRiverChairs.com