Friday, November 26, 2010

Craftsman's Corner Donates

Recently were were asked to deconstruct a fairly new structure for St. Mary's Hospital, in Blue Springs, Missouri. We do not usually get involved in newer construction, but as always, we could not allow any good materials to go to the landfill. The area to deconstruct was a enclosed walkway from the building to a mobile heart unit. The Hospitals head of the Cardio Department was under strict time constraints when she contacted us.

We were able to take a day away from the shop and remove all of the reusable construction material. Knowing a network of community supporters that are always looking for material, we were able to filter the lumber, doors, siding, insulation, heating/AC, and lighting to different folks needing these items for their projects. This group of Craftsmen and organizations, donate their time and talent to needy families, elderly, and single parent home owners in the community.

Thanks you St. Mary's Medical Center of Blue Springs!

Nina's Toy box

A few years ago, the folks at Habitat ReStoreKC called us to come rescue some nice old lumber from one of their deconstruction sites at Lake Latowana, Missouri. We removed a good sized trailer load and were able to make a lot of nice primitive furniture from wood of this old house. These pictures of the home, prior to deconstruction, were provided by the home owners.

A year or so later, a new family started attending our church. As we got to know them, they told the story of an old house at Lake Lotawana that had been in their family for years. The house had a lot of issues, and the family decided to pass it on to Habitat to deconstruct and planned a new house to go in its place. We were all surprised to learn that this was the same house that we rescued the wood from earlier. The owners, Henry and Nina, mentioned that it would have been nice to have a piece of furniture made from the wood of their old house. Since we tag and bundle all of our wood to include the address, we were able to find a few hundred board feet of lumber left from their house. Nina had been looking for a toy box to hold her grandkids toys, and asked if we had enough to make one.

Nina was pleased when we presented her with the design that you see to the left. Keeping the design simple and unassuming, we were able to highlight the age and beauty of the old wood with a nice hand-rubbed finish. The inside has ample space to store the toys and other items for the grandkids. When closed, it sits quietly waiting for its next playmate to come along.







Wednesday, July 7, 2010

The Berry Carrier

We at Craftsman's Corner are most likely best known for our tables, benches, and cabinets; however, we also have multiple shelves, boxes, and bins that are both unique and functional. For today's post, we've decided to highlight one of our "bins", called the Berry Carrier. The Berry Carrier, like many of our boxes and bins, is often missed by our online shoppers who typically make it through our table, bench, and cabinet catalogs before making a purchase, causing many to completely overlook the products in our Boxes and Bins catalog.

The Berry Carrier is one of our least expensive products in our catalog, at just $66.50. Like all of our Reclaimed Wood Furniture products, it is coated in a wax finish to give it an antique look. The Carrier is built to the highest quality, with every joint both glued and nailed, including the handle. This means for you that the Berry Carrier will be able to hold more weight than you could possibly place in its tray, ensuring durability for years to come. The tray of the carrier is built large enough to hold anything from towels, to cleaning supplys. In the picture above, you can see an example of its use, as a dish towel holder on the counter.

If you like the old fashioned looks and finish of the Berry Carrier, you can click its name, or click here to go to its catalog page on CraftsmansCorner.com. We also offer many other similar products, including the Grain Box, Cutlery Box, Dough Box, and Candle Box to suit the many tastes and needs of our customers. If you do decide the Berry Carrier is right for you, you can purchase it, and recieve FREE shipping if you live in the continental United States. Stay tuned to our Craftsman's Corner blog for more product highlights, and be sure to browse our online catalogs!

Monday, June 28, 2010

Find Us on Facebook!

Hello readers! We've noticed a big increase in the popularity of our newly redesigned "What's New" page and blog, so we thought we'd take some time to make a quick post about our new Facebook page! Our fan page is used to post recent updates on our blog, product photos, future products, and even changes to the website. Being new to Facebook, we only have about 18 fans as of now, but it's a start!

So, if you'd like to recieve all of our blog updates on your Facebook News Feed, become a fan! We promise not to crowd your Feed up with updates, we only update once or twice a week!


Craftman's Corner
Reclaimed, Recycled, and Reborn!

Friday, June 25, 2010

Planter Box Bench

Recently, a local school near our production facility asked us to build them two custom benches to be placed by their main entrance, so we came up with a unique cypress bench design. Like our other cypress products, we stained the wood  to ensure it would resist the elements of nature. As you can see in the image on the left, the bench is made up of two square planter boxes with a central bench.


Having planter boxes on either side of the bench will provide a unique experience for the users of the bench. Whether that be from the fragrant smell of the plants, or from the chance to have a more comfortable spot to observe nature while waiting for the bus ride home. We hope that the school will be able to use the benches for years to come as a spot for school projects, a place to read, or even just for the decorative look.


If you've looked at our outdoor catalog before, you'll notice that the planter boxes used on either side of the seat are very similar to the ones you can purchase online on our website, under outdoor furniture. If you like this design, and want one like it, send us an e-mail, or leave a comment on our blog! We'd be more than happy to build you one like it, or even one completely different! So far the school has enjoyed their new benches, and have even added a commemorative plaque to the front of each bench to mark the occasion.


Click here to return to the Customer Showcase!

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

The Country Cabinet

For this week's blog post, we've decided to highlight one of our cabinets - the Country Cabinet. Our Country Cabinet is one of our biggest sellers, but it's often times missed by our online shoppers because it's not located on our main Craftsman's Corner catalog pages. Like our other products, the Country Cabinet is built using our signature reclaimed wood and coated in a wax finish.

On the outside, you'll find the Country Cabinet has a familiar theme you've seen before on our other products, from its three slat door, to its unique distressed surfaces. As you look at the cabinet, take notice of the light striping going across the surfaces of the piece. Those are the remains of the rafters the lumber had rested on for the past several decades. 


If you look near the top of the door, you'll see we've fitted the cabinet with a unique old fashioned latch to add a touch of class and function to the Country Cabinet. Behind the door, you'll find a solid, center mounted wood shelf; sturdy enough to hold whatever you could possibly fit inside, whether it be books, clothes, towels, or even movies. Whatever you decide to place in, or on, the Country Cabinet, you can rest assured knowing that it's built to last. We nail and glue every joint, top, and shelf in place for long lasting durability. You'll also notice that we don't skimp out on our wax finish, we cover every nook and cranny, including underneath, and inside to ensure that the cabinet is sealed and safe from the elements.

Like all of our Reclaimed wood furniture, the Country Cabinet holds true to Craftsman's Corner's recycling philosophy, Reclaimed, Recycled, and Reborn, and is built entirely of reclaimed lumber. Even the debree left over from manufacturing each piece is donated to local horse stables to be reused. Unlike other products on the market, the Country Cabinet has built-in history, each nail hole, rafter mark, or dent is real; nothing is manufactured. This way, you'll always be left wondering if your piece is from a demolished building, off the roof of an old cottage, or even the planks making up the shelves of an old warehouse. If you'd like to know more about the Country Cabinet, visit our Other Great Products page, or send us an E-Mail, we'd be glad to tell you all the details!



Saturday, June 19, 2010

The Demolition Process

We at Craftsman’s Corner have always been dedicated to the true “green” philosophy of saving the earth’s resources. Long before it became fashionable to put the word “green” on manufactured products, our company has been working at putting the 3 R’s (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) into practice.



For more than 25 years, all of the lumber for our primitive style pieces has come from reclaimed sources. These sources fall into 3 categories. Some of the wood is purchased from organizations such as Habitat Restore. Linked with Habitat for Humanity, Habitat Restore’s mission is to provide used materials obtained from deconstruction site donations. Revenue gained from the sale helps to fund the Habitat for Humanity projects. The second category is individual contractors. Craftsman’s Corner has obtained some wood from deconstruction contractors in the area. These individuals find houses/buildings to deconstruct, then find buyers for the materials that are useful for resale. The third method to obtain this reclaimed wood is to reclaim the wood from the sites ourselves. Craftsman’s Corner attempts to locate responsible, eco-aware home owners or builders that share a passion for doing the “right thing” for our planet. Rather than hiring bulldozers to demolish a site within minutes, sending all of the refuse to overload a landfill, these responsible owners allow us a few hours or days to reclaim all of the material that we can in order to put these resources back into the stream of productivity.


Once the wood is obtained, it is denailed, sorted, and stacked until it is selected for just the right piece of furniture. Then, like most other forms of construction, it is sanded and fashioned into the unique piece it was chosen to become. All of the nail holes and other scars help to tell the story of the previous life of this piece of wood; giving it a one-of-a-kind look and history.


We hope you share our passion for saving and reusing our planet’s resources. Whether it is using the “3 R’s” in your own home, or purchasing items made by companies like Craftsman’s Corner who are dedicated to this philosophy, we all must do our part.


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Tuesday, June 8, 2010

New Cypress Products

Here at Craftsman's Corner we've been busily working on getting our online catalogs ready for our new cypress outdoor furniture. Right now, we only have our cypress planter boxes available to purchase online; however, we hope to have that changed soon. Until then, check out this posting to see the future products coming to Craftsman'sCorner.com.  

On the left, you can see our upcoming outdoor products, including a slat-top table, matching chairs with armrests, and two styles of benches. We also have different variations of the furniture you see in the image, including different table lengths, different seating types, and different bench styles. If you're interested in purchasing one of these pieces, give us a call or send us an e-mail, and we'll send you more information.

Unlike our indoor furniture, which is built out of reclaimed pine, our outdoor furniture is solid cypress. This means that they will be able to withstand the elements of nature and have a long life outside of your home. Although the wood is new, we are still committed to the building green philosophy by using all of the saw dust from the wood as bedding for local horse stables, ensuring that all of the wood is re-used, rather than thrown away.

Feel free to e-mail us about this posting, or share your thoughts in the comments section below! We'd love to here your thoughts on our outdoor furniture!

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The Nine Foot Harvest Table

Here at Craftsman's Corner we try to make a variety of sizes for both the Harvest table and Farm table to fit the various needs of our customers. In some cases though, even our largest six foot size isn't enough; as was the case with this custom Harvest table shown on the left. The owners of this particular table wanted to be able to seat all of their guests around a single table so that no one felt left out at another table or in another room.

The table itself has a story to tell. It began life years ago as the floor boards in a now demolished nun's convent. Notice, if you look closely, you can still see the lighter colored rafter marks running across parts of the table's surfaces, a small reminder of the table's past. While not being visible in this particular photograph, the table still retains all of the original nail holes that had, at one time held the pine planks to the rafters of the convent.

Underneath the table you'll notice the matching benches. The owners opted for two separate benches along the sides to making sitting down or getting up at the table easier. At the end of the table is a single seat; however, the opposite end is left open to allow easier passage through the kitchen area. Like the table, the benches also have a unique origin, they are constructed out of pine from older homes that had been demolished for land development.

If your interested in learning more about this custom Harvest table, or even the standard Harvest table, feel free to e-mail us! We'll continue to post more custom pieces we've built so that maybe you can come up with your very own unique Craftsman's Corner product!

Monday, January 4, 2010

Reclaimed, Recycled, and Reborn

Craftsman's Corner has been creating fine, handcrafted country home products for nearly twenty years. Our unique designs have evolved from basic sitck construction to primitive reproduction furnishings made entirely from reclaimed wood. The lumber used in our reclaimed wood furniture is harvested through local and regional demolition. In our committment to being green, we have developed relationships with Habitat for Humanity, Habitat ReStore and The ReUse People, who have been excellent sources for recycled wood. Our crafting facility is located in the Midwest.
Our primitive wood furniture has been entirely made in the U.S.A. and created for your enjoyment. Hand crafted from reclaimed 100 plus year old timbers obtained from houses and buildings slated for demolition, these unique items have been reborn for your enjoyment. Their functional design defines a simpler era in our nation's history. From "trash to treasure," each piece is unique in its level of distress due to the nature of the wood from which it has been painstakingly created. All of the lumber that we use must be removed by hand, de-nailed, cleaned, and sanded before it can be crafted into one of our fine products. A hand-rubbed finish, designed to enhance the natural beauty of the wood, is applied. It is our desire that you enjoy each piece as much as we enjoy creating it for you!

Reclaimed wood furniture. Recycled for the Environment. Reborn for your enjoyment.