February Woodworker of the Month

FEBRUARY WOODWORKER OF THE MONTH

ROBERT ELLENWOOD & THE SHOP

About 3 1/2 months ago, our son-in-law, called to say "There's a new place opening
and you guys should go check it out!" We're thankful we listened. Pictured below
are the doors to a Woodworkers Heaven appropriately named
THE SHOP.

In 1993, Robert Ellenwood and his friend, Randy Lunsford came up with a great new business idea. Knowing that according to American Woodworker magazine, 16 million Americans do woodworking as a hobby and 4 million of them don't have suitable shop space, they saw a niche to fill. "THE SHOP, a friendly place where you can affordably cut, shape and finish your dreams in wood." According to Robert, a general building contractor for 15 years, "It's membership based like a health club. We're creating a community atmosphere where people can come and learn about woodworking and use their knowledge to work on projects."

We were fortunate that THE SHOP opened it's doors in Henderson, Nevada (a suburb of Las Vegas) late in September, 2000. It's an 11,000 sq. ft. facility offering the latest tools and equipment to members, along with professional supervision. It accomodates all skill levels and I'm proud to say Robert tells me a very large percentage of the membership are women.

THE SHOP offers seminars, classes and guest speakers. A woodworking library, carving room, finish room, low-impact finish area and project locker area are available. In addition, to the larger power tools, members have access to the standard smaller hand tools. You can purchase lumber at THE SHOP and one-on-one assistance is available. When a member completes a project it can be placed in THE SHOP consignment area.

One of my favorite features is the once a month Children's Workshop. If a child is at least 5 years old and accompanied by an adult, they can attend and build a project from scrap lumber provided by THE SHOP.

There are four groups that will be catered to by THE SHOP. The Student - since many schools are losing their funding for Industrial Arts programs. The Entrepreneur - to eliminate the high cost of developing prototypes of a product and the opportunity to test market products by placing them on consignment. The Do It Yourselfer - to allow you to build your own projects without the cost of acquiring expensive tools and access to personal assistance and attention. The Professional - to bolster the woodshop infrastructure.

It's all here at THE SHOP! Watch for this great idea to expand into your area soon. In the meantime, we're glad to have it in ours. If you are in Las Vegas, visit THE SHOP at 6360 S. Pecos Rd., Ste. #10, Las Vegas, Nevada 89120. Or contact Robert by email at robert@theshoponline.com. Visit the website at http://www.theshoponline.com. You can reach them by phone at 702-458-9527.

A great idea has just arrived!

RETURN TO WOODWORKERS AUCTION HOME PAGE

CONTACT US AT SAWDUSTONE@EARTHLINK.NET