Philip Morley’s Work Truly Rocks
The Wimberley-based furniture maker has built an audience for his record consoles, rocking chairs, and other one-of-a-kind pieces.
The Morley Rocker.
Photograph by Jeff Wilson
The Morley Rocker.
Photograph by Jeff Wilson
In a workshop next to his Wimberley home, Philip Morley creates custom wood pieces such as record-player consoles and the Morley Rocker, a sculptural chair he originally designed for his wife when she was pregnant with the first of their four children. The 38-year-old craftsman, who grew up in London, embraced woodworking during his troubled teen years after a judge sent him to trade school full-time. He moved to the U.S. in 2003, eventually becoming an apprentice to Austin furniture maker Michael Colca. Morley, who branched out on his own in 2014, now has more than 148,000 followers on Instagram. “I am not a tech person,” he says, “but it brought me great exposure.”
Here s a closer look at plans and reaction from school districts across the greater Seacoast:
Dover Schools return plan
The Dover School District had been in a hybrid-model so far, with the number of in-person days varying by grade level and school, and a set target date to return to five-day learning May 3.
Planning has been ongoing to transition the Dover Middle School and Dover High School from the hybrid model to five days per week. Dover elementary schools have been planning for the scheduled return of virtual students electing to return for in-person learning May 3. Now the district has to move up these plans.
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As my seeds for the season’s gardens cover the entire kitchen table, I think of my neighbor who started it all for me.
The summer when she was 10, Amanda Russell tended her neighbor’s vegetable stand and picked raspberries, earning a percentage of the sales – and coming away with some things less tangible as well.
Photo courtesy of Amanda Russell
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Amanda Russell grew up in Round Pond and lives in Edgecomb now.
I grew up in Round Pond, and Big Willie was my neighbor. He was a farmer. When I was 10 years old, he hired me to help him with his vegetable stand, which sat on his front lawn.
Sr. Marie Duffy had it all planned out, she said.
Settled comfortably into her congregation s retirement facility, Camilla Hall, the 87-year-old Immaculate Heart of Mary sister, a former guidance counselor, would embrace the second calling in her life. I can t wait until I can have coffee, have time to pray and not to drive, and just be with God, Duffy said she remembers thinking. She enjoyed a year with friends on the independent living floor.
Then came the pandemic. After that, a fall. And on Sept. 11, 2020, Duffy entered a local hospital, where she had three surgeries on her leg and hip. For five months, she was bed bound.
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Roughly half of all calls to the Memphis Police Department relate to domestic abuse, of which some lead to court-ordered therapy for convicted offenders.
However, most traditional programs haven’t proven very effective.
The nonprofit Kindred Place Counseling Center (formerly known as the Exchange Club Family Center) is trying a different approach.
And James, a past participant, thinks it could actually break the cycle of violence.
This story was produced in partnership with the Institute for Public Service Reporting, and is part of the series Surging in Silence, which is supported by the Pulitzer Center.
James agreed to share his story on condition that we use only his first name. He was arrested two years ago for an incident he still disputes. A day spent arguing with his wife ended with a call to the police. In an affidavit, his wife said he choked her. James says he only grabbed her by the arms.