One of the primary reasons A.I. log furniture was founded was because of an experience I had living in Indonesia for 14 months after I graduated from college. I graduated with a degree in business and had dreams of someday becoming an entrepreneur, however I wanted to see and experience the world first! The 14 months in Indonesia proved to be some of the hardest, yet most rewarding times of my life. It was there that I first experienced some of the harsh realities of the world we live in. Poverty. Sickness. Death. War. Political strife and economic hardships to name a few. Toward the end of my 14 months this all came crashing upon me as I was forced to ask, “what does this all mean for me?”  “Should I contribute to the problems by ignoring them or should I vow to make a difference?” Though tempting it has been to settle for the American dream, I will not and cannot forgot my dear Indonesian friends who long to do something great with their lives… but simply don’t have the opportunity.  My conclusion to all of this is simple in word but challenging to live out, to GIVE IT AWAY! I have committed to giving away all that has been entrusted to me in the first place — my time, my gifts, my talents and my resources! With that being said, we are excited and eager to start helping young entrepreneurs in SE Asia.  We have already started working with an old roommate of mine to put together a business plan. We hope to give him some start up capital for his business within the near future. That funding will come directly from the income generated by our business. As always, if you have connected with something in this post, I invite you to send an email with any comments you may have! Thanks for reading!

We are stoked to introduce our latest retail partner. Cactus Creek is a great rustic store in the heart of a rustic little town known as Weston, Missouri! If you havn’t had a chance yet to visit this store you are truly missing out. From the stores wonderful, friendly management to its’ unique products you won’t regret your trip to Weston.  Below you will find a link to their .com as well  as a few of the products we have in the store! Enjoy.

http://cactuscreekdaily.com

This past weekend we had the opportunity to donate several pieces of furniture to a college student here in KC! What could be better taen a desk and book shelves??? It was a blast to see the look on this guys face when we told him we wanted to donate the furniture that he was in need of. A special thanks to all of our customers during the past two months. You purchase makes it possible to build and donate furniture like this. As the business grows… so will our giving! Please let us know if you have any creative ideas for us as we seek to help local communities through our business.

This blog post goes out to Norm Abram. Norm has truly revolutionized the art of fine furniture making. Not merely because he looks so good with his tool belt and plaid… but partly because of the show “The New Yankee Workshop” that ran for 21 seasons! Norm is the man. There is no other way to put it. I still remember waking up on Saturday mornings when I was about 10 years old to watch TV with my dad. Among our favorites on the Saturday morning lineup was watching Norm build some incredible pieces of furniture. I always wandered how he could get his project done in half an hour just about every weekend. Amazing.  Norm is one of the few men who inspired me dive into the art of furniture making. Some say it is a dying art as we live in a day of ‘mass production’. I say, “may the dreams of Norm and the young 10 year old on Saturday mornings live on!”  If you would like to read more about Norm Abram and his career, check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norm_Abram

Within the last few months we have seen a rising demand for re purposed barn wood furniture.  After the recent completion of our first barn wood bedroom set (soon to be added to the site), we are extremely excited to dive into developing this new product line. Not only will it diversify our product offering, but it is strategic in becoming an Eco-friendly company.  Due to the rapid change in agricultural practices since the mid 1900′s, barns all across the U.S. are becoming obsolete and have little to no functional value.  Many barns are being torn down and burned. This is where we come in!  The amazing thing is that many of these old barns were built from good old American hard woods which would cost an absolute fortune to build today.  Much of the wood from these barns has been remarkably preserved and can be turned into furniture with a true rustic elegance.

It is an amazing feeling to know that the wood from your bed, dresser and end table in your bedroom was literally used daily for dozens of years by a rich heritage of American farmers.  At AI Log Furniture, it has never been ‘just about the furniture’. Our goal is give you a story to share behind every piece of furniture that we sell.

Some friends of mine recently provided us with access to this barn up in Nebraska built back in 1924.  Contact us to dream up some plans for how we can turn this barn into some furniture! The possibilities are endless. (The first photo was taken in 1974!)

Here is my brother and I at the 2010 Annual Missouri Taxidermy Competition. Just a few days ago we gathered up a few of our products and hit the road for Jefferson City, Missouri where nearly 80 taxidermists gathered to show off their work in hopes of bringing home the grand prize! My brother and I felt right at home as we both love to hunt and fish and have a true appreciation for the art of taxidermy.  We interacted with many different taxidermists and the next step will be to get our products out to their showrooms for their customers. We are hopeful that our taxidermy product line will find its roots in Kansas and Missouri and soon grow nation wide. Take a look below at a few of the wildlife mounts. Pretty cool stuff.

One of the beautiful things about being an entrepreneur is the freedom!  I knew a long time ago that I wasn’t a 9 to 5 ‘office kinda guy’.  Owning a business can be stressful but the rewards are awesome. Last month I left the country to visit Indonesia for three weeks. It was my third time in the country and my second stay was for 14 months right after I graduated from college. I had an amazing time visiting old friends and exploring future business opportunities.  Indonesia has some of the best teak wood furniture in the world.  You can bet I was excited to see this guy on the side of the road using a traditional hand planer to smooth out this post.  He was delighted when I asked if he would give me a quick lesson.  The same technique would have been used hundreds of years ago.  In most villages through out Indonesia you will rarely see a power tool (still hard for me to imagine).  Most Indonesians are pretty little, but you will know a woodworker when you find one. Their arms are absolutely ‘chiseled’ (no pun intended).  Who knows…. maybe someday my passion for furniture and helping others in need will take me back to Indonesia, long term.  If this post sparks your attention in particular then please send me an email, tell me about it. I always love meeting people with similar interests and life experiences!

Check out these up to date photos of the log home I have helped build out in Missouri. The house is still several months out from final completion but the interior trim work has finally begun.  As a furniture maker, trim and finish carpentry are my favorite parts of home construction.  Attention to detail and creativity are two aspects of both furniture construction and finish carpentry. In the upcoming months we are planning on bringing this type of service into the company.  Our hope is to be one of the few “one stop shops” in the Midwest for all of your rustic home furnishing desires.  Remember, at Adventure Indoors nothing is too far out or extreme… we exist to help create your dream home.  Currently we are crafting a strategy to offer the following services:

- Helping clients design and craft finished basements/ offices/ bedrooms into a ‘Colorado Mountain’ theme by using barn wood, knotty pine, character logs, etc.

- Trim and finish carpentry services for cabins, lodges, bed and breakfasts or timber frame homes.

- Rustic slab stair cases, vanity tops, counter tops and fireplace mantles.

- Custom ‘character’ log railing

-And much more…

Woodworking shops are never identical. They each have their own special qualities.  Some are massive, some compact, some state of the art, some plain and simple, some neat and tidy, some an absolute mess, some are in a garage and others are in a basement.  The common denominator is that every passionate woodworker will make the most of what he has, with his own unique touch.  In fact, woodworkers thrive off the chance to be creative.  When it boils down to it, all we need is some space (out of the rain, preferably)! A I Log Furniture has now experienced three workshop ‘transformations’.  It all started in an old farm shed turned into a woodworking shop by my Grandfather back in the late 70′s (see photo 1).  After a strategic relocation to the Kansas City area 9 months later, we began crafting our product in a one car garage (see photo 2, move out day!).  Though I hope we never work in this small of an area again…. the travel from bedroom to shop each morning was a mere 30 seconds. Not bad.  The last two photos show our current location in Gardner, Kansas. Being provided with this place was truly a blessing and we hope to be here for a while! We hope you’ll come check out the shop and several of our most current products!

I just recently finished up working on a log home out near Pomme De Terre lake in Missouri.  As you can see the logs we use are a bit larger than your standard furniture logs. This was a new experience for me, and I totally enjoyed it. I have always had a niche in construction and it has been a dream of mine since I was little to build a log home. Check that one off the list!  This was a part time endeavor I explored in seeking a strategic partnership with a compliment industry to rustic furniture. If you happen to be or know someone who is a log home builder in the Mid West please let me know.  I would love to chat about a potential partnership through profit sharing agreements.  I hope you enjoy the pics. I will make another post after the interior is completely finished.

If you are interested in a log home please contact Scott Rogers, a Midwest sales rep for Real Log Homes. http://www.manta.com/c/mmqc5v7/heartland-real-log-homes (His contact)                       http://www.realloghomes.com/ (Their product)