Woody's Chair Shop

The Woody family originally settled in the Cane Creek area of present day Mitchell county soon after the Revolutionary War. The present owner of Woody's Chair Shop, Arvel Woody, represents the family's fifth generation of chairmakers.

Arvel Woody's grandfather, Arthur, made traditional "mule-eared" chairs which were taken by ox-drawn sled to Marion and Forest City to be exchanged for coffee and sugar at a rate of three chairs per dollar. Arthur's career as a chairmaker coincided with the handicraft revival, and his work became popular in the North. He apparently made an endless variety of styles to suit the tastes of his customers. He is known to have shipped chairs, unfinished and tied two and four to a bundle, by Railway Express to customers in cities such as Boston. His reputation, and that of his son Charlie, grew considerably when he began teaching chair bottoming at Penland School in the late 1920s. Arthur Woody made his last two chairs when he was in his early 90s, and died at age 96.

Arvel Woody and his bother, Walter, entered the chairmaking business following World War II. While the current designs have been modernized, the mortises are still cut with a machine manufactured in 1893 and the chairs continue to be assembled without glue. Arvel Woody continues to follow his grandfather's admonishment that "if you couldn't turn out a chair that would last a lifetime, then it was just a waste of time."

Indexes:
 Slat Back Chair  | Tall Slat Back Chair
  Slat Back Rocking Chair  | Mule Eared, or 'Settin' Chair