Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike Fanslau.
Hi Mike, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
After 35+ yrs owning a marketing /promotional company and being a mediator it was time to return to my roots. I’d always been a woodworker and purchased a sawmill so I could source my own lumber, as well as cut lumber for others with a similar mindset. I was also wanting to see trees recycled instead of being burned or chipped into mulch. In May 2019 I took delivery of a portable hydraulic sawmill. Through the next 5+ years I added 2 kilns to dry the lumber, loaders, trucks, and trailers to move the logs, and I tripled the size of my woodworking shop. My woodworking is more artistic………i call it “Furnitchurart” and prefer to utilize wood with character that is often repaired, or enhanced with epoxy. I always try to feature the wood and bring out it’s natural beauty with the right finishes.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
When you cut your own road and don’t have a mentor there will always be hiccups, bumps and struggles. Nobody told me I’d need a kiln , or that a kiln would be the bottleneck in a sawmill operation. I also went from a 35hp tractor, to a 45hp tractor, and finally to a 75 hp skid steer to handle my logs. Winter and snow provide quite the challenge……….Suddenly a blanket of white stuff covers 90% of your inventory!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I specialize in creating artwork with wood. I can look at a tree, or tree components and see the end product. I always dare to be unique and different when doing so. I prefer functional furniture that has an artistic flare. Many projects begin with a customer that wants a piece of furniture to fit within a space. Just recently someone wanted a log round (end grain) but wanted it to fit in the corner of their pool table room. I have many cut and dried rounds to choose from……….we chose a white
oak end grain burl that had some nice grooves in the section that would go into the corner allowing storage of cue sticks. Meeting the objectives of my clients while maintaining integrity of the wood and enhancing it’s beauty is what sets me apart.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I believe that “so called luck” happens when hard work, and opportunity meet. One could call “buckthorn” bad luck…..an invasive species that can take over a forest floor and prevent the more desireable species from proliferating. I’ve cleared many acres of buckthorn and taken a relatively useless wood and turned it into lathe turnings, and tables. It’s quite beautiful and deserves to be utilized instead of trashed. I have story after story that shows my good luck just happening…………or did I help it happen?
Pricing:
- DIY wood that’s budget friendly
- Heirloom Furniture on the upper end
- Co-Building furniture is budget friendly
- Coach & Teaching modestly priced
- Sawmilling on site very reasonable
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.portablewoodworker.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fonzrocks/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mike.fanslau
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-fanslau-mas-0a14247/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-9D_0p21Gs
- Other: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100042171410438
