When Chuck Sikkink sold his farm and moved into Harmony in 2005, he joined the Harmony Ambulance Service as an EMT. Being on call meant that he had to stay near home, so he started woodworking as a hobby to occupy his time.
At first, his son Brad teased him about his new hobby, but eventually he became interested in it as well. In the summer of 2012, he started woodworking with his dad, and in 2013, the pair did their first craft show together.
Neither Chuck nor Brad originally started out with the intention of selling their designs, but before long friends and family were asking the father-son duo to make things for them. They, in turn, told their friends about the Sikkinks’ woodworking skills and slowly, the word began to spread. In 2015, Brad created a Facebook page where he posts pictures of finished products.
Despite the popularity of their products, Chuck and Brad are not interested in turning it into a full-time job. “We’re just fine with doing it on the weekends and in our spare time,” Brad said, adding that to make enough money to provide a full-time income, they would have to do a lot of traveling to craft shows. They prefer to keep their woodworking as a hobby, not a business.
Chuck and Brad each have their own specialities when it comes to woodworking. Chuck likes to work with finished oak, making things such as doll beds and houses, play barns, kids’ furniture, and wine racks with it.
Brad prefers rustic barnwood, recycled lumber and other such types of wood, using it to build furniture, shelves, wooden flags, etc. “I try to keep up with the trends,” he said.
Many of the projects that the Sikkinks do are custom orders. Brad recounted how just that day, he had had three people approach him at work asking him to make things for them. He recently finished an order of 12 wooden flags that someone had ordered as gifts for his groomsmen and ushers for his wedding. He and his dad have also made things such as yard dice, full size bunk beds with built in stairs, and more. “We do have to say no occasionally,” Brad said of the requests they’ve received, adding that while they do try to accommodate people, there are times when they just aren’t able to take on a specific job.
During the summer, requests usually slow down to just a few a month and then pick back up when it gets closer to Christmas as people start buying gifts. In addition to filling custom orders, Chuck and Brad continue to do several craft shows a year, which means that they usually have some stock on hand.
Chuck and Brad recently purchased a CNC machine which will allow them to laser engrave or router words and pictures onto their projects. Brad is planning to learn how to use the machine this fall, which will open up more opportunities for personalization.
You can find Sikkink Homemade Woodworking on Facebook or call Brad at (507) 251-7513.
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