At age 12, owner Randy Gonnerman, made his first piece of furniture, a cedar chest.  "I just always remember liking tools, being drawn to it."  Randy eventually set up a small shop in the family garage, and by the time he was a junior in high school, he had his own sales tax permit.  He was then taking orders for specialty items from doors, to cabinets. 

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He became accomplished at "turning" wood on a lathe, using exotic and unusual woods, such as zebra wood, ebony, carpathian elm, myrtlewood, and purple heart. His turned pieces have been displayed in Des Moines art galleries, as well as the MacNeider Art Museum in Mason City, IA.

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Over the years, Gonnerman has never wavered from his passion, except to expand it. He keeps busy on two fronts, now--home construction, and cabinets.  He moved his business to the St. Ansgar Industrial Park in 2006, where he has his cabinet shop, construction equipment and trailers.  Attention to detail is his trademark, and it is as evident in his large structures, as it is in his small pieces.  It is more that just a job to him--it's who he is.

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Randy's biggest joy is catching that first look on a customer's face when they see a piece of his work for the first time.  "The challenge, the satisfaction, is to see their reaction.  It's nice to know that people appreciate the quality, and precision I put into it."​

 

Adding his son Joel to the team was a big asset. "It was rewarding to have my youngest son Joel want to work with me full time. He had worked with me since he was young and I had been able to able to teach and train him to do things the way I wanted them done.  He has the same attention to detail and accuracy that we're know for and we're lucky to have him".

 

Besides working with his dad, Joel also has his own side business designing and creating vessels he turns on the lathe.  His work has won awards at the regional and national level, and is available for sale in two locations. For more information on his work, please visit https://www.joelgonnermanwoodworkings.com/

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