Hi, my name is Frankie Flood and I am trying to fund 8 new chairs for the Metals studio at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. I teach Metalsmith and Jewelry Design at a State teaching University that has been hit hard by decreases in state funding and lack of support for creative areas of study. I am currently working on developing a strong undergraduate metals area in a wonderful studio art BFA program here in the mountains of North Carolina. The number of metalsmithing concentration/emphasis students is growing and the community is growing stronger each semester due to the quality of work that is being recognized and the options for learning new skills and techniques. I have five current students whose work was recently selected to be included in a national juried student exhibition and many of my former students are currently working in the areas of art, design, craft, fabrication, engineering, architecture, animation, digital fabrication, teaching, etc. My courses regularly attract both art and industrial design students due to the focus on function, fabrication, problem solving, and craft, and each semester my beginning and intermediate classes are full to capacity. The studio is able to seat 14 students at jeweler's benches and 1 bench for the instructor's demonstration area.

Up until recently, the students in my classes have had to sit on stools with no padding and no seat back. My studio courses last three hours at a time, twice a week, with additional outside studio time expected as well. Recently I was able to buy 7 new chairs from Vyper Industrial Chairs (www.vyperindustrial.com). The new chairs from Vyper Industrial are very high quality adjustable height units that will promote good body posture and allow students to work for long periods of time while seated. The new chairs are also built in the United States and will last longer than anything else currently on the market.

I would not usually ask for assistance, but I have been urged by others to pursue this GoFundMe in order to get the rest of my studio classroom outfitted with new chairs. There have been some people, however, that have mentioned that it would be possible for a student to take on the job of building chairs from scratch. While I have talented students and this is point is true that we could simply build the new chairs; the building of chairs still takes money for materials. Each semester it gets more and more difficult to get funding for materials for class projects and to provide materials for students who do not have the ability to buy everything that my courses require. Every purchase has to be justified and run through a lengthy administrative process. The funding of materials to build new chairs is not likely to be approved by those above me.

The University has made certain that sports teams get as much funding as needed as well as state of the art training facilities, but the budget for furniture for the Art Department was not sufficient for me to purchase chairs to outfit the entire Metals studio. Therefore, half the class will have old un-padded non supportive stools and the other half will have high quality supportive chairs that are comfortable and promote good working habits. Please help me complete this project by funding the rest of the new chairs needed to outfit the metals studio.

I am proud of my former and current students and what they have accomplished with their skills. Assisting in funding this project is helping to invest in the current and future students that will continue to learn in this studio space. Students who will eventually become strong problem solvers and creatives that make an impact within their local and global communities. I appreciate anything you are able to do, to help outfit the studio and the students in my metals area. If you aren't able to contribute, I still appreciate you sharing this with your networks and helping us to build a better metals area and studio classroom here at Appalachian State University. Thank you.

Thanks again,

Frankie