Kitty Page's Biographical Sketch

I met Gary and Leslie through the friendship of my daughter, Leah, and their daughter Aubrey.  The girls, now in their early twenties, were fast friends in junior high and have remained so to this day.  I had previously lived in Wimberley during the early seventies.  After wandering through a couple of different lives I found myself back in this small town perched at the foothills of the Texas Hill Country. At one of the daughter’s athletic events Leslie mentioned Gary needed a finisher for the woodshop.  I’ve always been one to jump into something new so I visited with Gary and thus began my new life in the furniture business.

Off and on over these last fifteen years, I’ve worked for the Weeks.  When I moved back to Austin in 2007 for my husband to accept a prop building job in the movie industry, I began to miss seeing my friends and working at the shop.  As fate would have it Rich, the finisher who had taken my place when I moved back to Austin, needed help with the Christmas rush.  It was great to be back working at the shop.  Shortly thereafter Rich informed us he was moving back to California.  I became the lone finisher and have been there ever since.

I have my own workspace and porch at the back of the office and showroom.  The chairs come to me raw wood.  I inspect and correct any small imperfection as it is needed and begin turning the furniture from raw wood into a beautiful finished piece.  I concentrate with sight and touch on each piece, sanding and oiling each curve until it has the silken feel we demand of our furniture.  I like to think of each piece as functional art to be cherished and passed down from family member to family member over the years.

Although I enjoy interacting with the guys in the shop, I like being able to work alone in my own little world.  Sometimes I turn the music loud and dance on that back porch.  Sometimes I listen to the craziness of the world in which we live all the while being thankful I have a job in a sleepy town away from the madness that allows me to work with ethical, honest, and wonderful people whom I consider part of my family.  We celebrate one another’s lives, the joys, the sorrows, and the shared conversations.  We do our respective jobs with passion and joy and present our finished craft to the world to enjoy.