Why does Sugar Mountain Woodworks use old recycled wood? Reclaimed barn wood has become widely in style and many woodworking shops have chosen to include it in their work. Thousands of old barns, cabins, school houses, stables, and other aged buildings east of the Mississippi have been traded and sold in order to salvage the valuable weathered wood. Needless to say, reclaimed wood has carved out quite the foothold in popular trends. Although this huge reclaimed movement does aid to the value of our work, there is so much more to why we use this material to build the tables that our family's name rests upon.

     About two hundred yards down the road from our woodworking shop stands my great grandfather's apple house and his old barn. He used to have a woodworking shop and a blacksmith shop as well but they are no longer there. He built these structures, along with others, with his own two hands on the farm that he and his family ran on Sugar Mountain in North Carolina. These buildings were important because they allowed him and his family to perform all the duties that sustained their lifestyle.

     On my great grandfather's farm and many others nearby, no one person could possibly take on all the tasks and challenges that it took to stay alive and keep a farm running. In western North Carolina, the winters are harsh and the summers short. It took either a close family or a tight knit community to maintain this way of life. 

    For us, using the old recycled wood from farms like my great grandfather's represents togetherness. This wood supported the structures and homes that our ancestors used to maintain their close-knit lifestyles. In each nail hole in the wood, you can imagine the farm hand that drove that nail working hard to support a family. Just like these old weathered boards have stood the course of time, we believe families and relationships should too. We invite you and your family to gather around a reclaimed wood dining table!

-Greg Gibson