Timberline Woodworks is mostly about boxes; beautiful, finely crafted and finished boxes.  It was started in 1996 when I retired as Controller and Chief Information Officer for a small local company.  At first, I started the business to get away from finance and turned to a hobby I had practiced for years.  As time passed, I came to really enjoy making boxes and became proficient at the craft.  I started selling to most of the high-end galleries in Kentucky.  Gradually I sold to a number of shops throughout the US.  At a wholesale show in 2001, I accepted an order from the Sundance Catalog Company, a business owned by Robert Redford and considered by crafters as one of the best in the business.  I received orderers totaling near $40,000 from Sundance and others at that show.  It was a turning point for Timberline Woodworks.  To deal with the potential significant volume increase, I debated about hiring employees, buying machinery and moving into a larger shop.  I decided to forgo all that and turned down most of the wholesale orders.  It simply wasn't where I wanted to go with the business and my life.  This set the stage for where Timberline is today.

I work alone, on every aspect of the business.  I purchase all of the walnut, cherry and maple here in Eastern Kentucky where it is grown.  The exotic woods come from a variety of sources throughout the country.  I use solid woods and no veneers and no stains.  I spend a great deal of time selecting wood for visual effect, including the use of contrasting woods.  Also, to embellish the appearance, I do some of the most complex joinery in the business, which adds strength and strong visual appeal.  It is said the dovetail is the ultimate sign of a craftsman.  I use dovetails with a 1/16" band of contrasting wood in the middle of the dovetail joint.  If that isn't enough, I have boxes with these double dovetails on each side of a joint.  Look at some of the pictures provided elsewhere.  Several boxes are made with hand made wood hinges.  I do all of the fabrication, sanding and finishing.  Each piece is hand rubbed with an oil finish at least twice and then allowed to dry for a week.  Then it is hand-waxed and hand buffed for a beautiful finish.  No plastic finishes here.

Needless to say, this process is more time consuming and cuts down on the volume of production, but that is the way I would have it.  I sign each piece, because I made it.

Since that experience in 2001, I have been selling almost all of my production to The Folk Art Center in Asheville, NC.  This is run by the Southern Highland Craft Guild.  I have not done shows since 2001.  Recently, my wife and I rented a studio in the Pendleton Art Center in Ashland, KY and I display work there. 

TESTIMONIALS

"Calling it a box is like calling a palace a house.  Sanded smooth as a baby's skin, it's double dovetail joints are so tight and precise they look as though they were printed on.  The lid is crafted of multi-hued woods in an austerely elegant pattern and the oil finish is rubbed to a dull glow.  It is a jewelry box, but the box itself is as much a jewel as its intended contents."

     Ashland Daily Independent

"When I saw the quality, I realized the value of the box and his tremendous skill"

     Becky Combs, Executive Director, Hope's Place

"He is a perfectionist and his work is perfection"

     Anna Marie Walker, Director, Kentucky Craft Marketing Program