Joni Matthiessen
This particular morning three men wrestled with a big slab of half a tree trunk with a big protruding knot on the outer bark. This scared lady hovered in the background just in case they needed me, snapping pictures right and left of the wrestling match happening right there in the shop. Anyway, sometimes folks donate wood to the shop and this slab was one of them. No one seemed to know where this half a tree trunk came from, but Steve Simecek, aka Simmi, is one of our guys that just loves unusual pieces and can make really awesome stuff from just about anything. So, this particular day it took three men to wrangle that piece of wood to our big band saw, to cut off the knot on the outside of the trunk. Then, as Steve does, he turned that huge slab of wood into the most awesome little bench that now sits out back by his patio. He made the legs out of other chunks of barked wood that were a perfect match for the top part of the bench. Steve has the uncanny ability to look at a piece of plain, boring wood and see ahead to make the most beautiful, unusual things. This bench is the perfect example of taking a very unusual slab of wood and making something amazing! Steve, you are such an inspiration to those of us who only see what is right in front of us, instead of looking ahead to what it could be. Keep up the great work!