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Craftsman
finds a niche
By CHRISTINA QUINN, IR Business Writer -
03/17/02
Cabinetmaker from Maine brings Shaker techniques
to Helena.
Moving his business from Maine to Montana has been easier than expected,
given the support of the community, according to Al Swanson, owner of
A.L. Swanson Cabinetmaker.
In two years, he’s built furniture for the Holter Museum Library,
displayed his work in local stores and established a reputable business
in Helena, Swanson said.
Much of the 31-year-old’s early success with his business has to
do with the help of the community and the quality of his work, he said.
Since he began mingling among members of the community, Swanson said he
has gained a reputation through word of mouth.
Now, the Maine native says his business is here to stay, building tables,
chairs and desks at the request of customers.
“He’s super,” said Ray Domer, owner of the General Mercantile
on Last Chance Gulch. “He comes from the old school — that Shaker
East Coast school.”
Before coming to Helena, Swanson learned this philosophy running a cabinetry
business for four years alongside the only remaining active Shaker community.
There, he gained an appreciation of the old way of building furniture.
He would watch the Shakers, a religious offspring of the Quakers, make
hardwood tables and chairs using old-fashioned tools like hand chisels
and wooden pegs.
To this day Swanson incorporates the Shaker-style of furniture making.
“At only 31 years old, I feel like I have
kind of an old soul,” Swanson said about his unique style of working
with wood. But, Swanson also uses modern equipment.
“There’s a fine line of patience and
that I have to make a living,” he said.
This old-fashion style is what led Domer to display
Swanson’s work in his store window.
Swanson’s barstools and end tables complement the rustic wooden décor inside the General Mercantile, he said.
He liked Swanson’s artistic woodwork so much, when Domer needed new cabinets, he knew who to call. “He was like the cabinetmaker that just appeared,” Domer said.
Like most cabinetmakers, Swanson views his work
as art.
“I just found wood to be a fascinating medium, just like potters
find clay,” he said.
This perspective of woodwork is one reason the
Holter chose Swanson to build furniture for the museum’s library,
according to Peter Held, Holter’s executive director and curator.
Museum officials also wanted a local artist to
do the work as a way to show appreciation for the community’s support
in remodeling the Holter, Held said.
In two months, Swanson built cherry wood bookshelves,
a magazine rack and an eight-seated table.
“His work is gorgeous, we’re just really
pleased,” Held said.
Other work of Swanson is displayed in the entrance
window to the On Broadway restaurant.
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To learn more
For more information on A.L. Swanson Cabinetmaker call 439-6397 or visit
his Web site at www.alswanson.com.
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Reporter Christina Quinn can be reached at 447-4075.
Reprinted with permission of the Helena Independent Record.