Sleepywood Rustic Furniture
Gerald & Michele Smith
1552 Duckwall Road
Berkeley Springs, WV 25411
(304) 258-9549
info@sleepywood.com
www.sleepywood.com

© 2001-2003 Sleepywood Rustic Furniture. All rights reserved. Any unauthorized reproduction is prohibited by law.


Logo by Shade Tree Graphics

Photos by John Allen, Mark Schwenk, and Jerry Smith

Text by Michele Smith

Site design & hosting by maggiedot.com

About the Artists

In 1986, I was intrigued by an article in a popular gardening magazine on building rustic furniture. As a lifelong outdoor enthusiast, the idea of creating furniture with the sense that it had stepped out of the woods, yet was also refined and functional, greatly appealed to me. Each piece shown had appeared to maintain its present character before building.

Inspired, I collected many books over the next few years, participated in a workshop specific to this art, and proceeded to hone my wood drying, mortise-and-tenon joinery, and finishing skills. Then in 1995, comfortable with my techniques, what had been an interest and hobby evolved into Sleepywood Rustic Furniture, named after the home I share with my wife, Michele, on Sleepy Creek Mountain, West Virginia, and, as you can guess, the spirit we continue to discover "sleeping" in the wood.

With great care for the environment, we collect mountains of branches, crowded saplings, and driftwood on outdoor treks, and occasionally from road crews, winter storms, and building sites. I craft the furnishings and Michele helps with the finishing, seating and business processes. From start to finish, our craft moves in sync with nature. Wood to be used with the bark intact is harvested in the winter. Wood to be peeled is harvested in the spring. Scraps remaining after building are then used to fuel our wood stove. No leftover waste!