Craftsman’s log furniture to be part of Black Walnut Festival

Russell Wilson to sell items at event set for Oct. 17-18

Submitted Russell "Rusty" Wilson's log furniture will be on sale at the Black Walnut Festival in Camden. Contributed photos

ENLARGE PHOTO

Submitted Wilson works on a chair made of logs. His choice of wood is either cedar or pinewood, he says.

ENLARGE PHOTO

Ferguson attempts suicide after being found guilty on all 32 counts
11/21/09
Neighbors still trying  to recover from fatal fire
11/20/09
Churches want end to ‘shooting and killing’
11/20/09
Gun turn-in will include some questions
11/20/09
State jobless rate jumps to 10.5 percent
11/20/09
> More headlines

By Shirley Belcher, Contributing Writer 12:10 PM Thursday, October 8, 2009

CAMDEN — It might not occur to you to buy a bedroom suite at a festival, but at the Black Walnut Festival it seems logical for Camden wood craftsman Russell “Rusty” Wilson to be selling his log furniture.

The festival, Saturday, Oct. 17 and Sunday, Oct. 18, in Camden, features 600 pounds of black walnuts, homemade black walnut ice cream, a parade at 10 a.m. on Saturday, music, a car and cycle show and crafts.

Wilson has been making his unique pieces for about 15 years.

His wife, Sandy, who is also Camden’s fiscal officer, said he was looking for something to complement their active outdoor life of hunting, fishing and camping.

“Our best seller is probably the log beds — king, queen, full, twin. The wood is either cedar or pinewood and no two are the same,” she said.

After he made his first log bed for a son, friends saw it and “it just took off,” Rusty Wilson said.

Then they started selling at the Black Walnut Festival.

“I build it and she sells it,” said Rusty about his wife.

“She has that gift of gab.”

They keep a photo album of past projects for customers.

“They will say I know what I want and they make a sketch of it or tell me,” said Rusty.

“Like a lady that had a small bedroom and wanted a big bed and didn’t have room for a big chest of drawers so I made her a skinny chest for each side of her bed.”

“We enjoy it,” said Sandy. “Sometimes it gets hectic.

A couple of years ago he was working 12 hours a day at his job and we had so many orders to fill.”

He smiles, “Plus it interrupts my hunting season.”

For Black Walnut Festival information, call (937) 452-1684. No pets are permitted in the festival area.

Share this article