Caledonia Argus

Aging, weathered materials, perfect for rural buisness

Posted: 7/9/02

By Shannon McKinney

Argus News Reporter

What may be junk to one could be a treasure to another.

That rings true with Tim Blanskiís knack for taking whatís old and worn and making it into pieces of art and rustic furnishings for the home.

Stepping into his showroom, one would be amazed at how Blanski, of Spring Grove, has taken old fencing, rusted out siding, creaky harnesses, and lichen-coated wood siding and turned them into beautiful table tops, picture frames, and mirrors. Each piece has a story to tell.

Taking the first square table top, Blanski explains the origins. The wormy maple legs came out of the barns rafters of a barn in Cologne, Minnesota. He describes the three sections of wood on the table top. ìThis is grey elm from loft flooring from the same barn. This is southern yellow pine, flooring that was laid over the original flooring in this house. This piece is red oak from a small granary in Black Hammer. Inlaid in the center is an inexpensive marble chess board. Probably made in Mexico. We found it stashed on a shelf in a granary.î

Blanskiís wife, Lisa Catton, marvels at her husbandís artistic bent. ìI wonder, ëHow heís going to use that. I have to be careful. My garden will be turned into furniture.íî

Catton works with Blanski on his projects by putting on the finish, which is what she enjoys more than putting the pieces together.

Blanski said, ìI find a ton of satisfaction in looking at the beauty of something that someone throws away. All the dings, the cuts, the weathered aging. A light sand and clear coat brings out a finish that canít be matched.î

And the neighbors are very helpful with Blanskiís interest in old, rustic things. Catton said, ìItís fun, now that theyíre on to him. Theyíre always stopping by with things they think he can use.î

One neighbor took Blanski down to an abandoned farmhouse and handed him a heavy, almost rusted out frame, sure that he could use it. Blanski spent 12 hours sanding and wire brushing the ugly iron frame. He added three coats of acrylic and used it as a base for a table. Now its one of his favorite pieces.

One of the coupleís most popular pieces is a unique piece of wood that was taken from the north wall of a chicken house. Lichen and moss was growing on the outside of it. He said, ìThatís a great example of an untouched unfinished look that we try to create, but nature painted it with all the grays the reds that we donít have to add. Itís our most popular everyday frame.î

Business and home a dream

The husband and wife team, formerly of St. Paul, came to the Spring Grove area last August to pursue their dream of living in the country and doing what they love to do most.

The couple had spent the last 20 years working in the corporate world when an ad in the newspaper for an 1880s farmhouse with 200 acres a few miles outside of Spring Grove caught their attention. The description sounded almost too good to be true. So, they decided to take a drive one Sunday afternoon and visit the property. Blanski said they hadnít planned on buying or moving, but once they saw the farm, they absolutely fell in love with it. He said, ìWe looked at each other and said, ëIf not now, when?íî

The farmhouse, originally owned by Mary and Craig Durham, contained an old 1904 granary that had been recently used as a wood shop. Blanski uses the granary for his own wood shop and showroom. Many of the buildings were hand painted. A stone walkway winds its way to the front veranda and next to a mature perennial garden.

Sitting in their lounge chairs on the porch, they seem completely at peace with the drastic turn of direction they took some nine months ago when they sold their home in St. Paul, left all their friends and family and moved to the southeast corner of the state to a town theyíd never heard of.

Before visiting the farmhouse, Blanski had already quit his job of 10 years as the director of sales for a technology consulting company. He said he and Catton were getting tired of working their corporate jobs.

The deciding factor to move came when they looked at the worst case scenario which was: their business doesnít make it, they sell the farm and they move back to the cities to get ìrealî jobs. Suddenly, it didnít seem as intimidating a move, since they had real jobs then and were not enjoying them.

So, to the shock of everyone, they packed up their bags and moved to Spring Grove to pursue their dream of a home in the country and to start a business that would be self-sustaining.

Woodworking hobby turned business

Woodworking had been a hobby for Blanski for the past 10 years. ìIíve always enjoyed it. Iím self taught. Iím still kind of a hack,î he laughs.

His hobby turned toward making rustic pieces, however, after Blanski had a log cabin built at a lake home, he began looking for rustic pieces to put in it. He said, ìBut it was too expensive, so we decided to make them.î

Now almost all the furniture the two have are hand made, even their bed frame.

They have been working on creating pieces of furniture for the business for the last nine months and living on money that was set aside to help them through the first year while they got their business off the ground.

Blanski said they knew it would take a couple years before their business was self sustaining.

Even now, they are still trying to find that niche for their product and balance how much time and energy they spend on each piece to make it affordable to people and efficient for them to make. Blanski said they may market their product to people with vacation homes who want rustic and log furniture.

Catton said its nice to finally have an inventory to show people. Now it may be time to spend more time promoting the business.

The two recently had an open house a few weeks ago during Spring Groveís Sesquicentennial celebration. Friends, family and neighbors stopped down to visit.

Catton and Blanski plan to take their product to show and perhaps put them on consignment at different area stores. They also have a web site that shows the products so people get an idea of what they look like. The web site is www.granarywoodshops.com.

Aside from selling what is on the showroom floor, Blanksi also takes special orders from customers who have a specific idea in mind of what they want. Catton said theyíve had a steady stream of custom orders.

The Granary woodshops is open Tuesday through Thursday 9 a.m.-6 p.m. or by appointment. ìWe hate to have someone drive by and not stop by,î said Blanski.

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