Category: company reviews

Alpha Omega Western Furnishings is based in Grass Valley, California and has been in business since 1983. The company is known for using wagon wheels to produce various items such as chandeliers, benches, tables, and so much more. Many of the company’s products are featured at theme parks and lodges in the U.S. and Canada. For more information about the company, call 1-800-959-7320.
Q&A WITH COMPANY OWNER TERRY HERTZ:

What kinds of items does your company manufacture and/or sell?

We make benches, dining tables, coffee tables, chandeliers, just about everything. Our items are great for both indoor and outdoor use. We also rebuild a lot of old wheels.

How much do your pieces of furniture cost?

There are not too many people making things in America any more. Our competitors import things from Brazil, Taiwan, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and other countries. We make everything here. Our price points start at $400 for a small chandelier and up to $4,000 for table. In this economy, people can’t afford a lot of things, but we think our prices are very fair.

What are the most popular kinds of items you sell?

Wagon wheel chandeliers

Briefly describe how you make an item you sell.

It’s a bit of a long process. It can take up to 8 to 10 weeks to make something like a chandelier. We generally like to get things done within 4 to 6 weeks, but we’ll knock something out in a week or two if the immediate need is there. When working with wagon wheels, we try to pick out quality materials. Then we may have to rebuild them a bit, sand them, and seal them. We offer lots of options on styles and colors because all of our items are custom-made.

What specific kinds of wood does your company use to make its items?

We make most of our products from 100% reclaimed hardwood. We occasionally use some reclaimed softwood and redwood.

How did you get into this business?

I’m one of those people who think they were born 150 years too late. I’ve always had an attraction to the western culture and wagon wheels. When I first got started at this, I built a bench and put it outside a retail store and it was a traffic stopper. One thing led to another, and now we’re making 100 different items.

What’s the craziest custom request you’ve had?

We’ve done lots of unique stuff. We’ve made pictures for a Disney lodge in Orlando, items for lodges in Canada, Six Flags, the Miami Zoo, and McDonald’s. We try to keep our product line pretty unique. We handcraft everything one at a time. We’ve made triple deer chandeliers, which are pretty different.

What kinds of items do you enjoy making most?

The railroad bench is my favorite item to make. It’s a heavy, old, and thick bench with railroad ties. I use parts of old bridges and beams to make it. It’s very dense hardwood with incredible character. It has a clean look. It weighs about 500 pounds.

AWL Western Wood is a rustic furniture company based in Snowflake, Arizona. It has been in business for about nine years and is run by David Barnes, who is not only a furniture aficionado but is also a traveling minister. For more information, visit www.awlwesternwood.com.

Q&A WITH DAVID BARNES:

What kinds of log furniture does your company manufacture and/or sell?

We make our furniture out of Alligator Juniper wood, which comes from a very large tree. We log it and mill it – we do the whole thing. We make dining room sets, couches, cabinets, staircases, doors, basically all types of furniture. We do all our own installation and deliver most of it to our customers.

How much do your pieces of furniture cost?

An 8-piece dining room set for a table and chairs runs about $5,000. A bedroom set with a dresser and nightstands is about $3,600. Cabinets go for about $600. Our furniture more artistic than plain log furniture, but it costs half the price or less of what others may charge in many cases.

What are the most popular kinds of log furniture?

Cabinets, staircases, rail systems, dining room sets, and beds are the most popular. But we work on whole houses as well.

Briefly describe how you make a piece of log furniture.

To make a table, we use two pieces. We use two pieces and put them together with biscuit joints. The leg systems are bolted and screwed together. We don’t use any nails. It’s all screws and lag bolts, which makes it very durable. A dining room set takes can take about 11 days to make. But it doesn’t include the time to log and mill the wood.

How did you get into making log furniture?

I had an outdoor cedar furniture company before. But I wanted to get into something that hardly anyone else was doing. Once I found the Alligator Juniper wood and took off with it. I’ve built furniture all my life.

What’s the craziest custom request you’ve had for furniture?

Some people want something that’s all twisted. They want character. One person wanted a burnt hole in the middle of a table, The wood we use is forest fire-burnt, so it’s got some burn marks on it and some people want them left on there.

What kinds of log furniture do you enjoy making most?

I like making staircases and cabinets the most. My second choice would probably be dining room sets.

Rustixs is a woodworking company located in Birmingham, Alabama. It is more of an “artisan commission-based company,” according to owner Gayle Christopher who is self-employed and works out of her home and garage. The company was established in the early 2000s. Christopher makes a variety of items from recycled wood and other items, such as beds, chests, birdhouses, and other unique crafts. For more information on Rustixs, visit www.rustixs.com.

Q&A with Gayle Christopher:

What kinds of items do you make?

Most of my items come from recycled or found wood. It starts with something that’s part of something else, such as timbers from an old barn. It really depends on what the client wants, so the wood I choose is based on the specific item I’m making. I get stuff from others, like twigs, branches, and logs that are collected from power companies that trim trees near their power lines. I use everything from pallet wood to peeled wood. I make chests, beds, chairs, just about everything.

How much do your pieces of furniture cost?

Most of the beds I make are about $1,500. I make 4 x 8 dining tables that go for similar prices. A chest can be about $300 to $400. I do it all by hand so it gives it a different look compared to the cookie-cutter type manufactured furniture that you can buy from a store. I know there’s cheaper stuff out here, but it looks cheaper. I even make heirloom furniture pieces that can be passed down from parents to kids. This is why it is much more unique.

What are the most popular kinds of furniture that you make?

Most response from clients is for beds made out of peeled wood. A lot of people also like chests made out of barn timbers.

Briefly describe how you make a piece of log furniture.

It really depends on the project. Chests can take about a month of working every day on them. It takes aabout a month to make bed with peeled wood, but peeled wood has to be dried for several months before you can use it. The tools I use include table saws, sanders, hand drills, and a pocket knife for peeled wood, I will use power tools when necessary as well.

What specific kinds of wood do you use?

I use pallet wood, and you never know what you’re going to get with this kind of wood. It could be Canadian pine, red oak, maple, or something else. I use some cedar and have used beech wood.

What’s the craziest custom request you’ve had for furniture?

Somebody wanted me to build them a rolling plant stand. After I gave them the price, I never heard from them again. I told them to look at Wal-Mart.

What kinds of furniture do you enjoy making most?

I like making cabinets and chests because there are a little easier to build. When you are working with peeled wood, it requires a lot more finesse.

How did you get into woodworking?

I started doing woodworking after graduating from college. I had no money but needed furniture. So I started finding stuff along the road that needed a rocker or seat replaced. I like the look of rustic furniture. I started building my own things, and then people started asking me to build things for them. Need was the mother of invention for me.

Alaska Antler Works is a company based in Anchorage, Alaska. The company is run by a husband and wife named Aaron and Jill Bork. The Borks create custom antler furniture and other related items from deer, elk, caribou, and moose shed antlers. They specialize in designing Alaska-Yukon moose antler furniture and lighting. Alaska Antler Works has been around for over 10 years and is a web-based company as the Borks work out of their home and ship their items to customers. Check out www.alaskaantlerworks.com for more information.

Q&A With Aaron Bork:

What kinds of items does your company manufacture and/or sell?

We make all kinds of items out of antlers. These include chandeliers, chairs, coffee tables, dining tables, and desks. We also build smaller items. We buy our antlers in bulk from different vendors, including some from companies in Alaska and Montana.

How much do your items cost?

The prices on items range from about $1,000 to about $10,000. Dining tables, desks, large chandeliers cost the most. The average price on items is between $2,000 and $3,000. Our prices tend to be cheaper because we don’t have an actual store to maintain.

What are the most popular kinds of items?

We sell a coffee table called the Keani that goes for $1,900. It’s probably our most popular item.

Briefly describe how you make one of your items.

There are three basic steps we take to make antler furniture – layout, construction, and touchup. We lay out the antlers and choose the ones that fit together the best.  Selecting the right antlers is the most important step. Then we put them together and make sure they are sturdy. Having a sturdy item is more important than how it looks. The last step is to touch up the piece and add a finish to it. It takes about 30 to 40 hours of labor to make a large piece of antler furniture, such as a desk.

How did you get into making this furniture?

We started with a small company and one thing led to another. A friend of ours gave us business and got us a good start to keep building stuff.

What’s the craziest or most challenging request you’ve had for furniture?

The first dining table was kind of a challenge. There is a lot that goes into it. There are a lot of sharp points, and you have to be very careful when putting it together.

What kinds of furniture do you enjoy making most?

I enjoy making the “Bone throne,” a single seat manly antler chair. It’s a really cool piece of furniture. My second choice would be to make an antler chandelier.