One man, one piece
I take on one commission at a time. No production line. No “starting at” price list.
“Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life,
to mind your own business and to work with your hands.”
1 Thessalonians 4:11
Winding River Workshop is a one-man shop in Constantine, Michigan. I build custom-designed, commissioned wood furnishings. We settle the drawings together; the price is for that job; I don’t cut until you approve.
The shop
I take on one commission at a time. No production line. No “starting at” price list.
Bring a photo, a page from a book, a piece in your house, or just something from your imagination. We work from that, then you approve drawings before a cut is made.
Email, phone, and photographs as the piece moves from lumber to finish.
Custom work is quoted for that piece — wood, joinery, scale, and finish — not a catalog number.
Selected work
Backgrounds are staged or generated; the furniture is real.
In memory
February 13, 1923 – November 17, 1988
New Jersey police officer, then fire and public-safety dispatcher. The shop is dedicated to him.
Begin a piece
February 13, 1923 – November 17, 1988
I broke the rules today! Dispatcher #1, Reynold (Ray) Heuer died. For many years Ray was one of those people who dedicated his life to serving people. Not content to merely serve the public as a police officer in New Jersey for twenty years, Ray found he was a “people junkie” and needed to continue his fix by becoming a fire dispatcher for the county, and eventually a Public Safety Dispatcher.
I broke the rules today! When I first met Ray Heuer I thought he was an opinionated stubborn, and cynical person who cared little about anyone or anything around him. I was wrong — not about him being opinionated, stubborn, and cynical (for believe me — Ray was the first to admit to those qualities), but I was wrong about him not caring about anyone or anything. Sure he was outspoken, sure he was quick as a rattlesnake to attack if he thought you were wrong, and surely it would be correct to state for the record that he took no abuse from anyone. But just as surely Ray Heuer cared about people as much as any of us ever will.
I broke the rules today! I got to know Ray quite well when I worked with him on the A-Line. Anyone who has worked the midnight shift knows that there is plenty of time to get to know each other during the lonely hours of early morning. As we would sit in the radio room in almost virtual silence Ray and I would discuss things that I found amazing. It was he as much as anyone who encouraged me to continue my college education. I sat fascinated when he talked about Greek Mythology, theory of abnormal psychology, and other subjects he knew so much about.
I broke the rules today! After Ray got sick he decided he had best retire to take care of himself, instead of all the people he had helped through the years. A sad legacy perhaps that Ray was never able to enjoy that nice camper bought just for retirement, but Ray was never the type to look back — just ahead. Even toward the end when Ray was so sick, he would call me at the office and talk (even though it obviously hurt) and say how good his chances were.
I broke the rules today! Although there are many Ray Heuer stories, the most personal to me happened one shift in the loneliness of the night when an emergency squad was dispatched to a heart attack victim’s residence. As I watched, Ray handled the call with his usual calm, polite manner. Shortly after the ambulance arrived at the hospital, Ray called to check on the victim’s status. When he hung up the phone he was strangely quiet and I noticed as he stared out the window into the darkness that he was crying (I later found out the victim was a close friend of Ray’s). I finally said something to him and he apologized for crying. When I said that there was nothing wrong with crying, he said: “In our job we don’t cry Sarge, it’s against the rules…”
I broke the rules today!!!
Goodbye my friend.