Townsman, 1991-07, Page 24operation in March of this year.
Things appear to be going well. An
expansion of the showroom facility
has recently been completed and
while the pieces displayed here will
obviously not be custom-made, they
are ones the Nichols feel confident in,
ones they are sure will meet the
approval of the consumers. "Feedback
so far is favourable," said Alex.
With the benefit of additional space
another facet is being added to the
store as well. David Campbell, owner
of For Our Friends, an antique and
specialty gift store located in down-
town Kincardine, recently made
changes in his facility to accommo-
date a line of kitchen ware, so his
antiques will be moving into half of
the space occupied by Pine River Fur-
niture Company. "1t will give us a mix
of old and new," said Alex.
Pine River furniture is hand -built by
Alex and two part-time employees in
a nearby building, that was used in the
past as a creamery and was the home
of the oldest sawmill in Ontario,
recalling the 150 year history and tra-
dition of woodworking in Kincardine.
Alex is proud to be following in that
tradition and even prouder of the type
of company he owns and of the prod-
uct it produces. "We are a small oper-
ation, so there is not the high
production technique. That's some-
thing we never want it to be. With the
size of our staff, we're being cautious,
trying to keep a balance between pro-
duction and the market. We don't
want anyone to wait longer than three
weeks for an order." He added that
they will soon be looking for more
help, but won't hire too many people.
"The former skilled employees of
Malcolm's are high on list. The arca
has a wealth of talent in this busi-
ness."
Though Pine River has supplied the
design trade in stores in London and
DeBoer's in Toronto they have no
plans of expanding in that direction.
"We saw the asset of leaving the
business here and having it blossom in
this arca. After all, Kincardine was
once famous for its furniture and this
type of manufacturing is a resur-
gence."
He explains that a lot more people
arc becoming interested in custom fur -
22 TOWNSMAN/JULY-AUGUST 1991
niture. "When you buy the middle of
the road furniture it is difficult to find
solid wood. Everything is primarily
particle board and veneer. It's a void
we are trying to fill."
The furniture built by Alex is made
from locally milled pine from Joe
Burgess Log Homes, where Alex was
employed after leaving the newspaper
business. "There's an interesting coin-
cidence that came about recently,"
Alex relates. "A man came in to order
a harvest table. As it turns out, he had
purchased a home from Joe that I had
worked on. The planks I use on his
table, will be made from the same
planks used in his home."
Part of the attraction is the input the
customer has into their purchase.
"People like to come down and see
and touch their furniture piece, when
we are working on it. It's like build-
ing a house; they're with us all the
way," said Suzanne, who does all the
finishing touches to the piece,
because, Alex says smiling, she's the
only one with the patience. "They can
personally select every part, right
down to the finish."
Customers also seem pleasantly sur-
prised with the amount of their invest-
ment, say the Nichols. "They are
getting a solid, handcrafted piece of
furniture and pay about the same as
mass produced," said Alex.
"Sometimes less," added Suzanne,
stating that their low overhead helps
keep prices down.
Cost of the Pine River originals
fluctuate from the base price with the
number of embellishments used to
make the piece distinctive, such as
Scandinavian chip carving, a tech-
nique that involves drawing a geo-
metric pattern in pencil, then cutting
out pieces of wood. "To my knowl-
edge, there is no one else in Ontario,
presently doing that type of ornamen-
tation," said Alex.
"People are perceiving a great deal
of value for the dollar and get lots of
personal attention," said Alex.
"That's something that's really nice
about our type of business," agrees
Suzanne. "The people come in. We
get to know them and their tastes."
"We visit the home sometimes two
or three times to show colour samples,
and we deliver and install our product
as well," Alex said. "We want to ser-
vice people to death."
Suzanne agreed. "It's not extra, it's
just part of what we do."
The Nichols' commitment to their
customer doesn't stop there, either.
"About one month after the purchase
has been made, we contact the people
to make sure everything is still
alright," said Alex. "It's basically cov-
ering all the bases, to make sure they
are getting a quality product."
For the Nichols, Pine River is the
perfect kind of employment, some-
thing they enjoy and something they
are building together."I have always
believed in the advantage of doing
something you enjoy. If what you
want to do can be a vocation it should
at least be a hobby as well. My defini-
tion of success is doing what you
want to do every day of your life,"
says Alex.
Suzanne, who in pre -Pine River
days, was busy raising the couple's
two small children agrees. "You have
to be happy doing what you're doing.
Look at this. We drink a lot of coffee,
have a clear view of the lake and plen-
ty of fresh air. It's perfect," she adds
smiling.
DON'T BE SURPRISED:
t IF you get sound advice about your cabinet
needs
IF you get workmanship based on many years
experience
IF you stay well within your budget
IF you get a handshake at the door. (That's our
door In the photo)
Ask for Murray Yungblut at
HURON WOODCRAFT RIPLEY 395-2487