Andy Woods and Company — Woodworking at its Collective Best
by Sally Hansen
Five exceptional woodworkers are dedicated to putting Almonte at the top of the list when people think about commissioning an original piece of wooden furniture. Andy Woods has upgraded his “extreme woodworking hobby” in Calabogie into a 5000-square-foot shop space at 65 Mill Street in Almonte where he works full time with four other dedicated furniture designers/builders. Their growing gallery of finely crafted original pieces in the front window of Woods and Company Millworks is proving irresistible to passers-by.
Now would be a great time to stroll past the shop and catch a preliminary glimpse of one of the more extraordinary pieces Andy has underway. The two long metal “rails” up on sawhorses in front of the entrance comprise the original chassis of a 1948 Morgan automobile. Andy is recreating the wooden body of the car from drawings and photographs for a client in Carleton Place. I’m looking forward to watching this work progress. I forgot to ask if you can get fire insurance for a wooden automobile…
Sharing Expertise
Woods enjoys the camaraderie of the collective he has formed. “You have no idea how exciting it is to be working on a tough design or production problem and have one of the guys (one of whom is a gal) casually toss out the perfect solution.” I raise the issue of competition because it is obvious from the examples on the floor that all the associates are highly skilled artisans with strong perfectionist leanings. Woods tells me that the beauty of their business model is that the healthy competition among the colleagues to be “the best” never gets in the way of collegial problem-solving and technique sharing. “We each have our primary areas of expertise, and we each learn from and benefit from the others’ knowledge and experience.”
Working on a nearby bench, Phil Moffat overhears his comment, and confides, “I’ve been doing woodworking for over thirty years, and I’ve never enjoyed it as much as I have here.” Phil would love to prolong the working relationship, but he is returning to Halifax in April to honour a prior commitment to his wife and family. Christian Hawn will be replacing Phil in the collective.
The Rosewood Connection
He won’t admit whether his name had anything to do with it, but five years ago Mr. Woods sold his Ottawa-based automated control systems company and embarked on a new career. After taking several courses in woodworking at Algonquin College, he signed up for a one-year stint at the Rosewood Studio School of Fine Woodworking in Almonte. The fit was so good that he became a staff member at Rosewood and opened up his own shop at his home in Calabogie.
When an old department store with 5000 square feet of floor space and fifty-foot-wide, floor-to-ceiling windows became available in Almonte just down the street from Rosewood Studio, Woods couldn’t resist. “We have an opportunity to make Almonte the best woodworking place to be!”, he enthused. “Rosewood Studio is great, and attracting instructors and students to Almonte from all over North America.” Woods is expanding his machine room and adding six to eight additional benches by June 1 for a time-bank approach to the collective. According to Andy, “Someone who could use approximately twenty hours per month of shop/bench time can have access to a full woodworking machine room and bench space for a reasonable monthly fee.” Probably the biggest inducement for many prospective renters is access to the aggregate know-how and problem-solving talents of the resident associates.
How Much Wood Would Woods…
| Visit theHumm’s Gallery of Woods and Company’s work |
Andy radiates a genuine enthusiasm for his chosen second career. “Everybody deserves one piece of finely crafted furniture made just for them,” he says, “and Woods and Company would love to make it for you.” As the Morgan demonstrates, they will tackle commissions from the radical nouveau to period pieces. They build from scratch and do restorations, and they find and incorporate the finest materials. They prefer to use the natural colours of different woods – black is usually ebony, white may be Holly, Purpleheart for purple – and will design and create hand-made hardware if a suitable hinge or lock or handle cannot be found.
To the four men and one woman who comprise the current Woods and Company collective, a challenge is viewed as an opportunity for greatness. They particularly welcome the challenge of a design commission. If someone has an idea about a piece, or a spot in their home that needs a piece, or has seen a piece they like but it isn’t quite right or doesn’t fit, the first step is to drop in and talk to one of the associates about it. Ideally the next step is a site visit by the woodworker. Woods tells me, “It really helps in the design process. Frequently we can incorporate design details from one or more pieces that the client already has collected, and it really helps to see the setting in which the new piece will reside.”
A quick stop at the Woods and Company Millworks in Almonte will definitely whet your appetite for your personal piece of exquisite wooden craftsmanship. From a small box meticulously fashioned out of ebony and zebrawood, to the perfect tool cabinet, to an iPod AV centre, you can have it made for you by Reggie Audy, Andrew MacTaggart, Phil Moffat, Jeff Ryan and/or Andy Woods.
To get in touch, visit www.woodsages.com or email Andy.