A big shout out to Ben our fabulous tour guide at the Thos. Moser Furniture Factory for really taking the time to show us what goes in to making the amazingly beautiful pieces. After donning protective glasses, we first saw some of the gorgeous finished products being ready to ship-dining room tables and chairs, cabinets, and some original and one of a kind pieces. Ben then took us through the process from start to finish-First we learned about the different woods like Walnut and Cherry and how they are sorted and matched. We then saw how pieces are cut and shaped and formed sometimes by hand, and sometimes by sophisticated machines. Did you know that curved pieces of wood are often times made of much thinner pieces that are glued together and then steamed into a particular shape? In the factory we also saw some folks like ourselves who were also on vacation, but they were helping build the piece of furniture they'd ordered. Thomas Moser has a special "mentoring" programs that allows you to come and work with a master craftsman creating the piece you've ordered while learning the art of furniture making. You could just tell that everyone working in this factory took enormous pride in crafting something truly beautiful. We learned what it means to "dovetail" and what "dowels" are among lots of other things. Such an educational and interesting look at something we take for granted. A big thank you to everyone at Thomas Moser for showing us try American artistry!
