PATINA May 19, 2024 Meeting Featuring Steve Dietrich, Dietrich’s Early American Furniture Reproductions

The May 2024 in-person CLUB meeting in McLean VA, will be SUNDAY May 19 (Moved from May 12, Mothers Day).

Our program for May will be by Steve Dietrich on painted furniture. Steve will show examples of German painted furniture, contrast those examples with painted furniture in the Pennsylvania Dutch style, and demonstrate color blending techniques that are unique to the German style.

Steve is a West Point graduate and retired Army lieutenant colonel and operates Dietrich’s Early American Furniture Reproductions (DEAFR) near Fredericksburg, Virginia.  His work can be seen in George Washington’s replica boyhood home, Ferry Farm, in Fredericksburg. 

A lifetime member of the Society of American Period Furniture Makers (SAPFM), Steve is descended from German cabinetmakers and conveys their pride of craftmanship into his work.  He served 8 years in Germany with the US Army, commanding an Army post in Bavaria where the Germans treated him as a Burgermeister (Mayor).  During his last assignment in 1990, he began his detailed study of period German paint decorated furniture and the painting techniques.  He holds an MA in History and has published extensively on military history and the history and reproduction of selected early American furniture.

We will use the upper lot only for tailgating. Please park in the lower lot if you are not planning to set up a table. Start time: 8:30 for tailgating, with a mini-auction to take place approximately 11am.

Steve’s presentation will begin after the outdoor pre-meeting tailgating and the inside mini-auction, between noon and 12:30.