Gary's Creations.

Situated along Highway 49, between the historic towns of Bridgeton and Salem, New Jersey, sits a roadside display of some very eye-catching creations. "Gary's Creations" to be exact. I passed his display of most unusual, handmade, primitive designs several times until they got the best of me. I stopped and not only did I purchase a treasure so rare, but have developed a friendship with the designer, Gary Ecert.

In a two-room workshop behind his modest cottage, he shared with my husband, Joe, and me where and how he builds his one-of-a-kind pieces. He uses old, used pieces of wood either salvaged from old home sites, barns, the community recycling center or specific pieces customers bring to him for their special design.

A visit with Gary is like taking a trip back in time without the time machine. His small three-room cottage was the original tollbooth used to enter the City of Bridgeton many years ago. It is neat as a pin, decorated with anything one could make of wood. My husband enjoyed the atmosphere as he and Gary talked about the "more masculine" pieces. His designs include primitive benches, chests, chairs, rockers, birdhouses, wheelbarrows, wagons, wall plaques and his most popular "in demand" selling-out-immediately item, an original Gary outhouse (affectionately named "The Crapper"). He told me the privies use a lot of his collected wood and their construction is limited. To say they are truly unique would be an understatement.

Once discovered, he has a steady stream of regulars who request specific items for their needs. One customer from upstate New York orders his huge birdhouses for use in a restored barn to sit on the high rafters. Another local customer brought Gary a huge, ugly, twisted six-foot Jersey red cedar stump. Gary stripped it down, hand sanded it, waxed it and created a coat rack for the foyer.

One great tip he gave us for preserving a wooden piece is to use a clear, natural paste wax. Both my husband and Gary are house painters by trade and they talked about all the finishes and stains available for wood. Gary swears by the paste wax so I bought a tin of clear bowling alley paste wax and, with natural elbow grease, I will continue to preserve my beautiful high-back bench with storage chest seat. It is made from oak, tongue and groove hard-wood flooring and the lid of the seat is a large, thick piece of hard maple. The chest is deep enough to store several quilts or blankets. The overall dimensions are 4' x 4' with a 4' x 2' chest.

Gary, a Viet Nam veteran, told me he does this labor for love and not so much for the money. He is quite affordable; my piece was priced at $275. You may find black walnut, dogwood and ironwood branches on a rocker or birdhouse, along with old barn boards, white pine, flat cypress, a door from an old chicken coop, shovel handles to pull a wagon or an old antique wheel. His imagination and designs are endless. I often drive by his front yard to see what new item is on display. I blow the horn and give him a wave. I am never without my camera.

J. H. HILL NEWPORT, NJ 08345