This article appeared in the Athol Daily News Business Review.

North Quabbin Woods, located at 1 East Main St., in the center of town, offers an assortment of wood products crafted by local woodworkers from the forests of the North Quabbin woods.

The store is a part of the broader North Quabbin Woods Project, a venture which itself is a part of the New England Forestry Foundation. The goal of the project, according to northquabbinwoods.org, is to “revitalize the North Quabbin economy based on the sustainable use of local forest resources.” North Quabbin Woods has several objectives, including the education of landowners about sustainable forest management, marketing locally made wood products, training forest guides and raising community awareness about the economic, social, and environmental roles that forests play in the region.

There is something or everyone at North Quabbin Woods. Browsers will find a wide assortment of custom woodwork, cabinets and furniture, musical instruments such as guitars and percussion pieces, gifts and accessories, toys, signs and wood turnings.

Scott Maslansky, director of the North Quabbin Woods project, says that one of the biggest benefits to the store is the local touch that all the products have. “We stay as local as possible, using woods from the North Quabbin area and using the incredible skill of local woodworkers. There are so many talented workers around who produce these items, and our showroom brings them all together in one place.”

The showroom features the creations of locals woodworkers, including: Michael Humphries: The creator of fine furniture, cabinetry and architectural millwork for over 30 years, Michael Humphries, of Warwick, offers a wide variety of products in his showroom. Michael Humphries Woodworking, Inc. builds entire rooms of cabinets, single pieces of furniture, jewelry boxes, mirrors, music stands, staircases, and other elaborate architectural millwork projects. Visit  www.michaelhumphries.com to learn more.

John Truitt: The work of John Truitt, of Athol, includes unique and beautiful bowls, cups, plates, vases, lamps, and other much sought-after burl wood products. David Scott: A resident of Wendell, David Scott creates sundials and traditional carved signs of all kinds. He does custom-made work to fit individual needs, and is a strong proponent of using locally grown wood. Visit www.scottdesignsigns.com to learn more.

David Buddington: Among the many varied interests of David Buddington is hand-crafting fine picture frames at his workshop in West Royalston. First introduced to woodworking while in high school, he produces both cherry and mahogany picture frames. 

Matthew Newman: National award-winning artist Matthew S. Newman’s 3-D bentwood baskets and sculptures are describes as the “fabric of imagination.” The Newman Basket even has its own design patent. In continuous production since 1985, these unique baskets combine traditional handcrafting with contemporary design. Fashioned from locally harvested logs, Newman’s mathematically precise baskets are each made from a single piece of bentwood, and preserved with a linseed oil finish. Visit www.asthesawturns.com to learn more.

Doug Feeney: Orange-based woodworker Doug Feeney specializes in incorporating woodcarved decoration into the furniture and accessories he builds at his shop. Working with native hardwoods, Doug builds home accessories such as breadboards, sconces, mirrors, and small shelf units. He decorates each of his pieces by hand with carving tools, taking his inspiration from traditional rural designs. He also builds small pieces of furniture and hope chests.

Dave Tudman: A resident of Athol since 1995, Dave Tudman enjoys the landscape of the woods and fields of the North Quabbin region. He owns 130 acres of forest on Chestnut Hill, and loves to work on the property. He hopes eventually to buy a portable sawmill so that he can harvest wood from his own property and make furniture with his own wood.

Kallisti Percussion: Kallisti instruments are examples of the ancient art of marimba making at its finest. Each Kallisti marimba is individually crafted by Bruce Scherer in Orange from carefully selected maple, birch, cherry, and padouk, and is custom tuned to a Peterson model 520 stroboscope tuner to assure tone and pitch quality. Each and every Kallisti instrument receives a fine finish that brings out the distinctive qualities of the woods that are used. Visit www.kallisti-percussion.com to learn more.

Jim Fountain: A true lover of wood and a native of Athol, Jim Fountain returned to the North Quabbin region in 1993 and set up his own small shop in New Salem. He makes all kinds of crafts and pieces out of locally harvested and recycled wood, ranging from beautiful cutting boards and picture frames to small furniture and garden fixtures.

Jon Sammis: A resident of the North Quabbin region, Jon Sammis, of Sammis Woodworking, uses a combination of exotic veneers and solid wood, along with domestic such as curly cherry and walnut. His shop offers a wide range of tables, hutches, desks, entertainment centers, cabinets and custom-made furniture. Visit www.sammiswoodworking.com for more information.

The Twigg Shoppe: Dennis Campbell of The Twigg Shoppe in East Templeton has been working in the twigg style since the late 1980’s. His distinctive repertoire of rustic furniture, including everything from simple garden benches to porch swings and rocking chairs, rocking chairs and upholstered items, are all handmade from local trees, branches and twiggs. Visit thetwiggshoppe.com to learn more.

Rustic Designs by Don McAulay Jr.: Don McAulay spends most of the year combing the countryside for the perfect sticks, twigs, vines, bark, and, come spring, saplings used in his rustic furniture. From these rustic materials, he fashions desks, picture frames, end tables, clocks, and his signature bent-wood garden chairs. Visit www.rustic-designs.com to learn more.

Bob Lindsey: A true native of the North Quabbin region, Bob Lindsey started building toy trucks in 1994. Since then, he has built 65 of the trucks, progressively modifying the design to meet the suggestions and challenges of friends and family members. Today, his catalog includes log trucks, dump trucks, and oil trucks, as well as toy strollers and wagons. He collects the wood for his trucks from the scrap pile in his daily walks through the neighboring sawmill yard at Heyes Forest Products. Most of his trucks are made out of pine, but he occasionally uses oak or maple.

Mark Bosworth: Woodcarving is mostly a hobby for Bosworth, who specializes in wood sculptures. Many of his sculptures can be found in his own home, but he has also done custom carvings and commissioned work in many different styles and sizes. He works in many species of wood, ranging from local species like pine and basswood to more exotic species like butternut. Visit members.tripod.com/~ bosart/ to learn more.

A complete list of the local woodworkers can be found at the program’s Web site, at northquabbinwoods.org/woodproducts.

The North Quabbin Woods store has been in business for over two years, and was originally located at the West River Health Center. According to Maslansky, many people who happen to enter the store do so out of curiosity. “So many people come in and have no idea who we are or what we do, but they are surprised at all we have to offer.We’re in a high-traffic part of town, and lots of people come in just to see what we’re all about.”

While people are still discovering the store, the number of customers is growing. “We’re really starting to get the word out, and business is getting better. It’s something that this community needs, and we’re glad to provide such a useful service. According to Maslansky, using the resources of the North Quabbin woods promotes local woodworking businesses, and allows the store to provide custom-made products that are carefully crafted by local artisans. “It really works both ways,” he said. “We seek out local woodworkers, and they are starting to seek us out as well. The word is spreading rapidly. Maslansky said that the total sales of the business doubled in 2005 from 2004, and the number of visitors to the store tripled.

Showroom hours are from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday to Friday; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, or by appointment. A comprehensive Web site, northquabbinwoods.org, is available for customers to browse the store’s inventory and learn more about the North Quabbin Woods Project. The site, according to Maslansky, had 12,000 unique visitors this past year, and will be expanding by this summer. “This region has so much to offer in the way of open space, forests and outdoor recreation. Through the store, the site and the program, we are promoting all that the North Quabbin region has to offer,” said Maslansky.