Today we’d like to introduce you to John Enger.
John, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I started woodworking as a tiny kid. Maybe six years old, if I had to guess — the age my dad judged my hands strong enough to hold a wood rasp and block plane. I quickly got obsessed. Pretty soon I was building boats, and selling my belongings to buy hardwood from the local mill.
After college, I spent a decade in journalism, but I couldn’t seem to quit building things. I turned the basement of one of my first apartments into a low-budget woodshop. I could only build things small enough to fit out of an egress window. It wasn’t ideal.
Half a dozen years ago, I started building timber frame structures. But materials are expensive on a journalist’s salary, so I hewed the timbers from logs with my grandfather’s old felling axe. These buildings got some attention from locals. Timber frames, especially ones cut by hand with axe and chisel, have a feel of permanence to them that cannot be replicated. Some of the oldest buildings on earth are hand-hewn timber frames. Even new, they carry the lineage.
I got some timber frame work on the side. I was still working full time as a radio reporter. But mostly, the timber frames earned me trust. People figured, if I could build a big vaulted building, I could build a dining table. Commissions came rolling in. At a certain point, I realized I was making more money working part time as a woodworker than full time as a journalist. I went full time. And here we are.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
I can’t complain, but no, starting a business is not easy. There was quite a long period when I was working full time in journalism, very nearly full time as a woodworker, and also trying to be a husband and father. It’s hard, psychologically, to leave a career like journalism after investing a decade. It’s also pretty hard to sock away enough money to take a risk like striking out on your own.
I started taking my vacation time from my day job and using it to build commissions. At one point, I took my last two weeks of vacation to raise a timber frame structure. I had exactly 14 days to build a pier foundation, erect the structure, sheath and roof it. There was no power on the job site, so I could only use hand and battery tools. And it was the middle of winter, in Minnesota. I’d show up before dawn, wait for the sun to rise, then work, alone, as fast as I could until it set. I got the thing done with about an hour to spare before I had to go back to my day job. But it was that commission which gave me enough of a buffer to eventually take woodworking full time.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a woodworker. I build mostly custom furniture and timber frame structures. I use the oldest and best woodworking techniques — things very few people are willing to do today. I precision cut mortise and tenon joints — tusked through tenons, sprung breadboards. I’m realizing these terms are probably a bit in the weeds, but basically, the things I build cannot be bought at furniture stores. Most things that can be bought commercially will fall apart in a few years. My goal is always to create things to last a few centuries. To outlive me, and the client, and all our children. I strive for permanence.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
I learned that crises are painfully unfair. Many of my friends are entrepreneurs in various industries — most were hit terribly hard. Meanwhile, my potential client base was stuck in their homes all day, getting stimulus checks and thinking about how much they hated their furniture. And thanks to supply chain issues, furniture stores couldn’t meet demand. I could build a table faster than one could be shipped in. My business did extremely well through the pandemic. It’s weird to be having good luck when so many others are struggling so desperately.
Contact Info:
- Email: john@engergrove.com
- Website: engergrove.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/enger_grove/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/engergrove/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNXhgHnfkRhx-oiP1oALprw
