Woodworkers craft business in downtown Tampa
Post date: May 16, 2011 7:30:23 PM
The story of two talented woodworkers of vastly different backgrounds launching a high-end specialty business is as interesting as their joint success, recently reinforced by an invite to display an $11,000 piece at a prestigious New York City furniture show.
Their 3,500-square-foot shop is all business, equipped with band saws and carver's benches, an articulating vise and a router dependent upon the operator to fashion the grooves, not some computer-driven pattern.
"Alison and I still enjoy the process of making the pieces by hand," Johnson says matter of factly. While assorted woods and projects in various stages fill some of the floor space, prospective clients cannot expect to see completed pieces.
"We don't have an inventory because we do commission work," Johnson explains. "Right now we're probably running four to five months out," he said of the time between the commissioning of a piece and work commencing.