Sworn to Sawdust

Deft, nimble, or handy—you choose the word—Hamilton craftsman Caleb Kemp suits the description. In 2006, after working as a timber framer in the Bitterroot Valley for more than six years, Kemp decided it was the right time for to him to try and develop his passion for woodworking into something else—a business of his own. (Timber framing is a centuries-old building style that integrates sound construction techniques with attractive materials to produce a natural, yet beautiful, appearance.) 

“Timber framing gave me good experience,” says Kemp. “But, I was burned out and wanted to experiment with a new type of woodworking. Today, we’re using hard woods, walnut, cherry and mahogany—basically a finer product. With the trusses we make, we can add curves and arches, and, especially with the furniture, we can take creative liberties,” says Kemp, who, when he uses the word “we,” means himself and his “younger, taller, bigger” brother Erik, a like-minded timber framer whom Caleb trained in furniture assembling. 

True to the tradition of the clever craftsman, Kemp, who holds an associates degree in Construction Technology, enjoys shaping objects and creating utilitarian items from scratch.  “I think that a nice piece of woodwork changes the feel and the look of the room. Plus, looking at the work after it’s done, gives me great satisfaction.” 

Good woodworkers, says Kemp, must possess savvy design skills and expert optical abilities, and they should be able to combine them with the natural talents derived from their own set of hands.  

“You must be able to visualize things and be able to do them. Some guys can draw, but they can’t create their visions. They like to dream, but they may not be able to build.”

While Kemp is comfortable in his position, his craft, and his calling, he’s still trying to find a harmonious balance between business and enjoyment, hobby and exacting work. 

“Honestly, I think the hardest part has been trying to not suck the fun out of the business. I wish that I could just woodwork and not have to worry about the other stuff. Typically, I have no problems coming in and getting focused. As soon as I get here, I set some goals and go forth making sawdust.”

Tom Woodall, owner of Appleton Furniture and Design Center, located in Helena, sees in  his own furniture family heirlooms to be handed down from generation to generation.

Similar to many craftsmen, Woodall has always worked with wood products. Self-taught, he first began making rustic pine furniture in the 1980s. As he was rigorously repairing, Woodall studied and analyzed the methods of furniture production, discovering that mortise and tenon joints outlast dowel joints and can be re-glued quicker, too. 

Around that time, Woodall purchased a book detailing the construction of Mission-style furniture, later applying the knowledge that he attained from it to jumpstart his own building projects. 

“I began getting individual requests for things, such as dining chairs,” says Woodall. “I then was able to copy and design my first set of dining chairs. I quickly realized that I had the ability to see a picture of furniture and then reproduce it. From there, I started thinking about other new projects and began making my own designs.”

In 1995, Woodall, along with his wife, Cheryl, started building furniture and refinishing and repairing antiques in the old carriage house behind the Appleton Inn, in Helena, under the name of My Montana Cabin. 

Woodall has progressed over the years from rustic pine to Mission to what he calls Contemporary Arts and Crafts with a slight but pervasive Asian influence, using mostly cherry, maple, imported plantation grown mahogany, and quarter-sawn sycamore.  

In 2005, the Woodalls doubled the size of their business by moving to its current location at 1999 Euclid Avenue. With the transformation of the Appleton Inn, (formerly a Victorian bed and breakfast built in 1890 owned and operated by the Woodalls), Appleton Furniture and Design Center, now offers a splendidly attractive three-floor showroom gallery for their glossy, original arrangements. The contents include an enclosed wrap-around front porch serving as a lighting showroom, as well as many new lines of upholstered furniture, such as African Mahogany bed frames, end tables, and chairs, in addition to home accessories, hundreds of rugs, and lighting for every room in a home.  

Appleton Furniture and Design Center employs a pair of additional woodworkers to help keep up with growing requests. In fact, they currently are executing a custom-furniture order for Governor Schweitzer. This surge in demand, says Tom, can be attributed to his furniture’s unique look and feel, as well as its special sophistication and grace.   

“I make sure that everything sold here looks proportional and has class and style. We use hand-rubbed polyurethane for finishing that is water and heat resistant, something that ensures durability.” 

Appleton’s impressive growth is the result of its singularly original designs, mostly clean-lined furnishings with an attractive timeless yet contemporary look. To Tom Woodall, every step of the furniture construction process brings with it an opportunity to dazzle and to be diligent.  

“I like working with Mission and Arts & Crafts styles of furniture, which I twist into my own approach. It suits me well. My productions combine a rustic and modern look. My goal is to provide customers with a fine heirloom quality piece of furniture that will be treasured for years to come.” 

Steve Davenport’s dignified craftsmanship is infused with his  emotional, visual, and sensuous sensitivities. During the production process, he draws from his own expectations, abilities, and experiences, as well as from literature and observation, to create structural, technical, and decorative solutions for specific design needs.

For Davenport, integrity, stability, and gracefulness aren’t hollow words to be frivolously tossed around in order to impress clients into thinking he’s a worthy craftsman, but rather they are inextricably linked components, part and parcel of his ethical codes of the process. “I need to be honest in my work,” says Davenport. 

Davenport Furniture originated in Bozeman in 2000. Since that time, by creating classy, high-quality, high-end furniture, built using classic and original design elements and attributes, Davenport has acquired a sturdy reputation as a conscientious craftsman. Most of his work these days, he says, stems from referrals and good old-fashioned word-of-mouth. 

“I make a product that’s meant to last and is beautiful. I don’t make disposable furniture.”

More than 90 percent of the work that Davenport does is created from walnut, an elegant and stable domestic hardwood which, he says, is excellent for woodworking and is never even the least bit problematic to cut, shape, or to create with. Some times he’ll also use select walnut lumber harvested from the same self-sustaining, spiritual Amish communities of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he grew up.

 “I’ve always remembered and admired the Amish work ethic and dedication. It’s something I’ve kept as a model.”  

Unlike some woodworkers who employ apprentices and hire on extra help, Davenport is a one-man outfit, a sawdust squad of his own, so to speak. The reason: He’s a self-professed stickler for quality, who finds it beneficial to worship the work of his own hands. 

“I’m a big one for quality control. I know what I want to achieve, and I know what I want a particular piece to look like when it’s finished.”

While Davenport’s stylistic influences are many, his design elements are as original as they are lavish. That’s because, he says, he doesn’t like copying or aping the craftsmanship of others, and because he prides himself on his adroit ability to sketch, layout, and build a specific piece for a specific setting. Additionally, he invites questions regarding furniture building and maintenance and enjoys lending advice to his customers.   

Presently, Davenport, who masterfully hand-builds between 35-40 pieces of furniture a year, has enough deadlines and commitments to keep his hands busy and ingenuity sharp for some time to come. Davenport doesn’t need to hear platitudes and compliments to feel good about himself or his woodworking. “The bottom line is that I need to do the best work that I know how to. That’s my job.”

Caleb Kemp Woodworking, 107 Bedford Street, Hamilton, MT. Phone: (406) 375-0020. 

Tom Woodall, Appleton Furniture and Design Center, 1999 Euclid Avenue, Helena, MT. Phone: (406) 495-0016. 

Steve Davenport, Davenport Furniture, Bozeman, MT. Phone: (406) 570-2305.

~ Brian D’Ambrosio is a freelance writer living, working and recreating in Hamilton, MT. Currently, he is the editor of the Clark Fork Journal, a monthly community newspaper based in the Bitterroot. D’Ambrosio is a frequent contributor to Distinctly Montana Magazine.