Village Squire, 1979-04, Page 16it's all built to specifications. We work from a picture in a
magazine or a picture in a catalogue."
Bill does some design work often taking an idea that someone
has seen somewhere and turning it into drawings from which the
work can be done.
"We have been specializing in reproductions of antiques and
we have a fairly extensive library: books on early French
Canadian furniture and New England furniture and Upper
Canada furniture. It seems to me we've built almost everything
in every book that we've got."
Ninety per cent of the people coming in have seen what they
want in a furniture store or in a magazine, Bill says, and it's not
quite what they want so they want something custom
made for them. Sometimes people will arrive with several
pictures and want part of each put into the piece. "I did that for a
cannonball bed. A lady had quite a few ideas so we managed to
take them all and put them all into one and she got what she
wanted."
The other service offered by Maitland Woodworking is the fact
that they can build furniture to fit specific spaces and uses in
people's homes. There are several manufacturers and retailers
of reproduction furniture in the region in places like Kitchener
and London but these make production runs on various pieces.
Thus if you want a corner cupboard that has to fit between a
window and a doorway and nobody builds one that size. then
custom builders like Maitland Woodworking can fill the bill.
"Pretty well all the customer stuff that we get has positive
dimensions that we can't exceed," Bob says.
One of the things the brothers like about their work is that
diversity. Unlike assembly -line shops, they are hardly ever
working on more than two of a kind. Their orders are for nearly
everything that can be made of wood. Sometimes they'll get
something simple like a coat rack or a sign that can be whipped
off in short order but a major project like a hutch with a lot of
detail can take much longer. They've built everything from
rocking horses and children's toys through to fancy buffets and
hutches and blanket boxes and drysinks. Some projects may take
two weeks to do while others might be done ten in a day.
"It's so varied that it's fascinating. You never really get bored
with it," Bob says.
Pine wood is the most usual material used in the shop, chiefly
because most of the antiques people want reproduced were
built of pine. "If we're reproducing them we've got to use pine
whether we like it or not," Bob says. Actually the brothers would
like to work more with hardwoods. "We'd prefer to work with
walnut all the time. It's a much superior cabinet wood. So is
oak."
Pine is an easy wood to work with because it is soft and is easy
on the tools. Because it's soft, however, it is also easy to mark
up, something that can be a major problem when it comes to
moving furniture around a lot as the Wallaces do when they're
visiting craft shows.
Probably the most popular item produced in the shop is the
pine trestle table. "A lot of our customers are city dwellers who
buy .a second house, say an old farm house, and they want to do
everything in the old style." The table has a thick plank top
supported by two scalloped pedestals. Seating along the side is
on benches with room for chairs at the ends. Blanket boxes and
commode mirrors are also very popular items.
There is no attempt to make instant antiques in this shop. No
chains or shotgun blasts or blowtorches are used here to try to
instantly age the wood. They are like the original craftsmen who
made the furniture that a century later is now considered
antique. They use new wood to produce new -looking pieces on
old designs. The only alterations to appearance are through the
use of finishes that can make a piece look new or older.
Customers for the business have come from as far away as
England but are more likely to come from Kitchener, Guelph,
Toronto, London, Goderich and to a growing extent from local
communities such as Listowel and Wingham. Bob says he thinks
at first the more local customers were skeptical that they couldn't
14 Village Squire, April 1979
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FOR THE BATH ... towels, mats are color -toned to
shower curtains in plastic taffetas, moire or cotton,
even scales, soap dishes, drinking cups and
hampers are available in matching color palettes.
There are co-ordinating prints in towels, shower
curtains, mats, etc. that can bedeck this room from
tub to floor.
BEDDING BY MAETEX ... more magic. spring
showers designed by Barbara Brody. Fantasy
flowers on a ground of yellow & twined with green
ivy leaves, sheets, cases, comforters.
LAMPS ... Our shop is brimming with delightful
unique offerings. Do plan to allow time to browse.
FURNITURE & GIFT ITEMS
33 WEST ST.
GODERICH
524-4400
Above Brown's Decor
4 , , `: 1)ecDrat.'
Accessories
Dcecoratlng
Expert Interior
& Exterior
Decorators
Kern Paints
Wallcoverings
Armstrong Carpets
Window Shades
Dried & Artificial
Flowers
HILDEBRAND
Paint and Paper
Phone 527-1880
15 Main St., Seaforth