little different from any other piece, and he said

little different from any other piece, and he said he wants to keep it that way. Special touches that add the right look to the furniture also take time.

“The antique farm tables were used to slaughter pigs and clean deer on, so the farmers didn’t build them to look really nice,” Tom said. “I have gone around to antique shops and looked at the furniture, and we reproduce the wear that the furniture would have had through use.”

He said the wood is “distressed” in various ways. Any knobs and latches are not put on tightly and are worn wherever thumbs and fingers would be naturally wearing the wood, the furniture is put together using old-fashioned nails, and an early American stain is used. Reproduction blacksmith hinges are used on hutch doors.

“The actual antiques are really rickety, but people can get the same look in a sturdy piece of furniture made by a cabinet maker,” Tom said. “They’re really buying new antiques.”

The furniture’s unique look has caused a few visits by people Tom calls “spies.”

“We’ve had several people stop by and try to figure out how we make it all look so old,” he said. “They ask a lot of questions and never buy anything. I don’t know of anyone else in this area doing anything like this^’"

Tom has made some pieces that he and his wife do not want to sell, like a table made with a unique board that still had its bark when Tom bought it.

“We hand stripped the bark off, and made a table out of it that would be very hard to find anywhere else,” he said. “1 don’t know if I’ll let that one go.”

Since sales have picked up, Tom has the luxury of keeping some of his furniture.

“When you first start a business, things are pretty tight,” he said. “In the past few months, though, we’ve been able to put some of my things in our house instead of having to sell everything.”

Tom hopes that trend will continue.