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The first impression people get when
they enter our shop is that it looks
more like a gallery than a shop. With
artwork, large workspaces, whimsical
design details and shining, clean floors,
our shop is not like the cozy dens that
many woodworkers use. It is, however,
an efficient and comfortable place to
work. As full-time custom furniture
makers, my business partner Harry Van
Ornum and I use every square foot of
our shop, called Four Sisters
Woodworking
(inspired by a quirky Victorian
photograph - notice our logo?).
We’ve designed the space to be large,
open and light-filled because that’s the
Our shop is also the culmination of
lessons learned from the poorly made
shops we’ve worked in over the years.
Harry and I have more than 60 years
of woodworking experience between us.
We started our partnership in 1995 in a
leased space in downtown Fort Bragg,
Calif. We ran that shop for five years,
renting bench space to four other
woodworkers. It got to be a very busy
place, and Harry and I found we were
doing a lot of things other than making
furniture. We decided to sell the place
and build a perfect shop just for the two
of us, leaving the landlord hassle
behind.
Les Cizek with Harry van Ornum
This new shop is a unique and functional
workspace. It comes very close to
fulfilling our vision of the perfect shop.
by Les Cizek
We like to share our shop with students.
TAKE THE TOUR
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Each year The Taunton Press, publishers of 'Fine Woodworking' magazines publish a 'Tools and Shops' issue.
The Winter 2002/2003
'Fine Woodworking Tools and Shops'
issue contained an article written
by Les Cizek titled 'Dream Shop in the
Woods' describing the Four Sisters
wood shop that opened earlier in that
year.
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