By Jill Roberts
In my joy of sharing things that excite me, I wanted to give a shout out to a craftsman in Connecticut, who’s creating some great home furnishing pieces with ties to Connecticut’s history. In full disclosure, Jeff and I are both Harwinton natives, and graduated high school together, but I won’t hold that against him…lol.
Jeff Tompkins turned a hobby into a small business last fall after he retired from the State of Connecticut (yes, we’re that old 🤫). Working out of a converted garage bay at his home in Middletown Connecticut, Jeff creates custom designed home furnishings from aged Connecticut barn wood and revived vintage items. Together with his wife, Michelle, who manages the marketing and sales, they’ve started Knotty7 Wood Designs.
Jeff enjoys working with vintage material for its character and history. All of the lumber he uses to produce the home furnishings comes from old Connecticut barns. He’s assisted on a few of the disassemblies, including currently a 200 year old barn in Coventry. “It’s been nice hearing the story behind the barns and meeting the people,” Jeff shared.
From a coat rack, to an end table, to an outdoor patio set, Jeff’s rustic designs allow the wood’s natural character and aged luster to be the focus of each new piece. In with the old to create the new, Knotty7 Wood Designs delivers a bit of history with an opportunity for a new beginning.
Follow Knotty7 Wood Designs on Facebook and Instagram.