SIDNEY — Area residents who enjoy hand-crafted furniture and decor have a new place to find items for their homes.
Joseph Cramer, of Sidney, has opened Cramer Custom Woodwork and Home Creations at 825 Russell Road. The business offers refurbished and refinished furniture and decorative items made by Cramer and six other artists. He plans to showcase the work of an additional 10 craftsmen soon.
Dining room sets, dressers, what-not shelves and end tables share space in the second-floor gallery with wall hangings, jewelry and scarves. Currently, most of what is for sale is made of wood, but Cramer hopes to expand his offerings.
“I’ve loved art since I was a kid. I’ve dabbled in all kinds — painting, drawing, sculpting,” he said in explaining why he left a full-time job as a welder to establish and run the shop. “What’s better than being your own boss? I just had a son. He’s 3 months now. I figure I better do it now before he gets older and more expensive,” he laughed.
Cramer decided to focus on crafts and home decor because decorative items are very popular now.
“And I love crafters. They take dressers and turn them into benches or windows and turn them into wall hangings,” he said. He looks forward to increasing his clientele as well as the number of artists he represents.
“I want to sell to people in my hometown. I want to support local art. People who are getting it know that it’s done by their neighbor,” Cramer said.
He opened the shop in September and admitted that it was a rough start.
“But it’s picking up a lot in the last two weeks,” he said. Besides himself, two other woodworkers support the business on a contract basis.
The firm will accept orders for custom-made furniture and decorative items, will refinish and rebuild furniture, offers custom signs and maintains a gallery of items available for purchase.
Cramer Custom Woodwork and Home Creations is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For information, call 937-622-5446.
