How I Became a Willow Furniture Nut

It all started in 2001 with a bare spot in the living room, and a VERY understanding old Italian lady...

... I lived in this little backyard apartment, behind this sweet, little, old Italian lady's house. She charged me about $300 per month (which was actually more than a dollar per square foot, it was tiny), which was a steal. It was a steal because she included the utilities, trash and power for the apartment, and invited me over for Sunday dinner about once a month. In return I'd rake her leaves and mow her grass, and take her to the doctor when she needed it, and so on. It was a perfect arrangement for a poor, broke college student (second time around, if you know what I mean...)

To make a long and boring story short and boring, I needed a couch. I had no couch, and only a plastic lawn chair for furniture. I did have a futon, but it fell apart. I also had no money. BUT I had a library card! And I had a bucket full of tools! And I had a book from the library about willow furniture!

I set off for the river one Sunday morning when NO ONE was at the park because it was January and COLD outside. At six AM I snuck along the greenbelt cutting willow saplings and collecting driftwood for a couch. After several close calls and one much-too-dedicated jogger, I had my wood strapped securely to the roof of my little Subaru, and headed home. I worked all day to make that couch, and my land lady never asked where I did the work (in the living room, of her apartment, of course!). The couch eventually fell apart, like all first projects are won't to do, but I learned a thing or two. As January turned to June, I started to sell my designs locally.


This was the second chair I ever made. I thought it looked snazzy with the old rifle... but now I'm not sure what I was thinking.

That's my dog, Buddy. He has been with RCR since the beginning. Here he is as a puppy showing off one of my very first commercial offerings... an acquaintance of mine bought the chair for $60 on the very day that the bank said I had $1.96 to my name.
God is never late; but He's almost never early!
I caught up with that old acquaintance last summer, and they still have the chair. I must have done ok.


I even tried this rustic bird feeder... I think the little Italian Lady still has it in her backyard, hanging from the peach tree that the squirrels planted.
These mirrors were a good seller on Ebay for a while... except that every one broke in shipping. I learned a valuable lesson in packaging and insurance!

One memory that stands out from that June: I was working at my workbench outside, under the elm tree, near that little apartment. The radio was on, and a lotto commercial said, "What would you do if you had a million dollars?"... I pondered the question for a while... and realized that I would probably work on rustic furniture under an elm tree, if I had a million dollars. I turned off the radio and finished the chair whistling a new tune.