About Us
This title has long been a slogan for my parents ( Barry and Darlene Gregson's) Adirondack Rustics. At times Rustic furniture seems hardly fitting a description. My father Barry Gregson has worked on designing this line of furniture since 1981. Since then it has evolved. Our main drive tends to lean toward seating, though we produce many different types of tables w/various leg configurations. Braces that appear to grow up and around the top as if the burl top is cradled like a gem in a setting.
Every item produced is made from naturaly occuring bends in the forrest. We spend about a month and 1/2 in the woods, harvesting uprights for chairs. We litterally walk and meander back and forth through various previously logged properties, where the saplings grow in thick. We'll look at approx . 100 trees before we cut one. There are several very specific types of bends that we hunt for . Ex... a rocker upright has a much more pronounced bend than a side chair, so that the seatting position is more layed back. Through the course of hunting for these bends we may find a couple of extrordinary uprights that have root feet. These are reserved for our fanciest chairs. One rare find begets another, so even though you might not have uprights that match in diameter and bend you hold these pieces, sometimes for years until the rest of the componets reveal them selves, in the forest, or in a pile from another years havest, hopefully not at the bottom. These special uprights will deserve perhaps some cherry burls, or some other highly figured wood which will continue to build on the allready rare composition of the chairs frame. This is how each and every project evolves from the ground up.
Each and every cope is hand carved for a meticulous fit. The seat, back & armrest are test fit for comfort as many as 50-60 times. Often going back and reshaping to obtain better posture & less pressure on sensitive areas, shoulder blades, elbows ect.... Rockers are test rocked on a piece of marble to make sure they don't rock back to far,as to make you feel that you might go over, but enough to put you at a comfortable angle. Also to make sure that the chair stays level as it rocks front to back, once all alterations are made the rockers are pinned in place with one hand made 3/8" heartwood hickory peg. You'll find that all Gregson furniture is designed and made just as strong as it is comfortable. Thats why we stand by every piece we make with a lifetime guarantee.
I could continue to describe the many diferent facets of our various designs and show you photo after photo, but if you're seriously considering aquiring rustic funiture anywhere, you should consider seeing & experiencing the items first hand. To asses if it fits your taste, lifestyle or perhaps, in the case of our chairs, your body structure. We make many different sizes, and even though we've made approximately 2500 chairs since 1981, not one has been the same, because of all the variables that are inevitable with the use of these natural materials. The most rustic facet of our products.
News
Northeastern Woodworkers Association's
18th Annual Fine Woodworking Show
March 28th & 29th, 2009
NWA's website
In the near future we hope to add video footage to this website.
Demonstrations, and perhaps this coming fall-early winter we will take the camera in to the forest to do some harvesting.