Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Get to know WHOLE LOG LUMBER

Hi there, from Loy. If you're reading this you've got some interest in antique wood flooring and reclaimed lumber. To find out what makes WHOLE LOG LUMBER stand out in a growing list of reclaimed wood suppliers, get to know the people of WHOLE LOG - who make our company special.


First - meet my husband Jim Stowell. Jim fell in love with one of the premier antique woods - Heart Pine - while processing some Oak logs to build a timber frame house quite a few years ago. At that time he considered himself a craftsman - still does, in fact - but instead of building houses, in 1984 he turned his interests into supplying wood for special floors that go into special homes.




Compared to the amount there are today, there were few companies that worked with antique wood, reclaiming and recyclying it, turning it into fine flooring and building products. So in the early years particularly, Jim pretty much learned from his own experience. I can say with confidence : " We were Green before it was Cool! "

Heart Pine was for many years the main species of antique wood WLLC worked with and is in fact - our specialty. Additionally, today we provide Antique Oak, Maple, Chestnut, Hickory, Cypress, Fir and Redwood.

Not every species or product gets listed on the website due to the dynamic nature of the products and relationships we've established. So if you don't see it here, you can still inquire about it. A large portion of our work is custom, so don't limit your requests by what you see listed.

Though solid antique wood flooring will likely always be our primary focus, we supply antique engineered reclaimed wood flooring as well, and look forward to providing it with the most green-friendly adhesive available in the near future. Along with Stairs & Stair Parts that we've done for many years, we've added Door manufacturing to our millwork product line this year.


Here's Heath Patrick, our Salesman, at a recent presentation at the the local Rotary Club. He's great at working with customers and matching them up with just what they're looking for, and will walk you through any finishing questions you may have. He's a musician in his spare time and wrote the original music that accompanies the video done about our facility, which is available for viewing on our website, www.riverwired.com or YouTube.



Here's Joshua Malpass, our Operations Manager.
Josh manages our production and keeps everything running smoothly. Jim calls him a Renaissance Man because he's familiar with so many things and is such a creative thinker and problem solver. Check out this video entitled "Old Lumber Reborn" that Riverwired.com (a green minded website) did on us with Josh describing our reclaimed lumber business:
http://www.wholeloglumber.com/pages.video-tour.php





This is Remy Laan, Master Craftsman/Woodworker Extraordinaire. Remy came to us from New Orleans where he first worked with antique wood and honed his skills. Today, we consider those skills - "gifts" , which have strengthened our ability to provide exceptional products to our customers and bring a high level of technical ability and innovation to WHOLE LOG LUMBER.



Here's our trusty Mill Guard-Dog,
"King Wolfie Spirit,"
relaxing on a tractor as he faithfully watches over daily operations.






And here I am - Loy Lauden-Stowell.
Not the best picture perhaps, but representative.
Marketing, Finance and Human Resources - are my my areas of focus.
Together with these guys above, we feel we make up a pretty super management team, and are supported in production by a great group of employees.
People are what make WHOLE LOG LUMBER special, who are committed to quality and providing customers with the very best buying experience.
If the future, this blog will provide helpful comment on pertinent questions and issues about antique and reclaimed wood and issues concerning green building and LEEDS certified products. Thanks for your continued interest.