Furniture of the faith 'refreshingly different'.Like the handcrafted hand·craft n. Variant of handicraft. tr.v. hand·craft·ed, hand·craft·ing, hand·crafts To fashion or make by hand. hand·craft furniture he makes, Leroy Stutzman is as uncomplicated as they come. "In this day and age I find them so refreshingly honest," says Bruce Alexander This article is about the English actor. For the American mystery writer, see Bruce Cook. Bruce Alexander is an English actor, perhaps most famous for his portrayal of Superintendent Mullet in the ITV television series A Touch of Frost , owner of Findlay's Guardian Drug Store in New Liskeard. He has purchased two tables from Stutzman's Woodcraft wood·craft n. 1. Skill and experience in matters relating to the woods, as hunting, fishing, or camping. 2. The act, process, or art of carving or fashioning objects from wood. Noun 1. , a Mennonite-owned and operated furniture, cabinet and door making shop nestled in the back roads of New Liskeard, approximately eight kilometres northwest of civilization (or three hours north of North Bay). "Generally when the product arrives it's even nicer than we thought it would be." Born in Indiana, Stutzman has come from a long line of Mennonite brethren and sisters. At 19, he migrated to Northern Ontario Northern Ontario is the part of the province of Ontario which lies north of Lake Huron (including Georgian Bay), the French River and Lake Nipissing. Northern Ontario has a land area of 802,000 km² (310,000 mi²) and constitutes 87% of the land area of Ontario, although it after hearing a church was to be opened outside of New Liskeard. The United States' loss was northern Ontario's gain. He worked as the community schoolteacher and also as a carpenter for a contractor of the faith. In his spare time Stutzman enjoyed creating practical home pieces from wood for his new family. It was a step of faith that gently guided him into believing his talent was not only marketable but beneficial to the Mennonite community. "Really I was looking to be self employed," he says in his understated manner. In 1996 he approached his uncles and other men from churches back home and asked them to lend him some money to bring his idea of a cabinet and furniture-making shop to reality. He managed to convince six to invest, and today five men custom-make wood dining room and bedroom sets, armoires, end tables, kitchen cabinets and doors. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] They do no wholesale furniture. Alexander says the workers have a knack for using the wood's grain to accentuate ac·cen·tu·ate tr.v. ac·cen·tu·at·ed, ac·cen·tu·at·ing, ac·cen·tu·ates 1. To stress or emphasize; intensify: the pieces. Straight lines, perfect cuts, and above all the practicality of each finished product lure many a buyer to the Northern backwoods. "It is growing as fast as I can handle it," he says. "I am not looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. further markets at this point." Most of the clientele is from North Bay, Sudbury and Timmins. They ship as far as Thunder Bay Thunder Bay, city (1991 pop. 113,946), SW Ont., Canada, on Thunder Bay inlet of Lake Superior. The city was created in 1970 by the amalgamation of the twin cities of Fort William and Port Arthur and two adjoining townships. as well, but 30 per cent of their clientele live within a 40-kilometre radius. He has sold some furniture to Torontonians, but is not too keen about expanding further right now. Bumping up the volume means he would have to buy more equipment and at this point it is not economical. "With the facilities I have I am about running at capacity," he says." Usually the operation consists of one man in the office doing the finishing touches finishing touches finish npl the finishing touches → der letzte Schliff finishing touches npl → ultimi ritocchi mpl on pieces slated for delivery. Stutzman brings in pine, birch maple and oak to his 7,000 square foot shop. He prefers to work with oak because of its attractive appeal and easy milling quality. In the first full year of sales the company brought in $110,000. Eight years later annual sales are closer to $449,000. "I like what we are doing," he says. "My oldest son, Leon, (12 years) comes in after school sometimes to help out." BY KELLY LOUISEIZE Northern Ontario Business Northern Ontario Business is a Canadian magazine, which publishes monthly in Greater Sudbury, Ontario. The magazine covers business news and issues in Northern Ontario. |
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