Jim Fickett

Rough Mill Coordinator, 1988

I first saw the Thos. Moser shop on a high school field trip. My uncle, Rick, was already working here (and still is), and I was interested in woodworking, so it seemed like a good place for me to look for work. Of course, when I was seventeen, I had no idea I’d still be here over thirty years later.

Today, my job is to read the wood and select the pieces that will be planed, rough cut, and sent to our woodworkers to create our furniture. It takes a while to envision what’s inside a rough piece of wood and what boards share similar grain and color characteristics. But after a while, you can see what boards are going to fit together to create a beautiful table, chair, or whatever we will be making at the time.

“We have a core group of twelve to fifteen people who have been here for a while that really set the tone for creating great work.”