Keith Johnson is a full-time woodworker and content creator based out of New Jersey. After years of working in corporate, Keith was laid off and had a big decision to make. The answer: woodworking. He and his shop cats now successfully run his custom furniture business with varying streams of revenue, all the while building pieces and creating videos simultaneously. Keith Johnson, also known as KJ Sawdust, discusses what it takes to be a full-time woodworker in this documentary.
"Why buy custom made furniture? If you are looking to incorporate a built-in bookcase that matches the look of your 100-year old house, you won’t find that on the shelf at IKEA. If you need a unique table to fit perfectly in that oddly spaced nook, you won’t most likely find that at a chain furniture store. Most store bought items are mass produced to basic sizes and with limited options, and they don't necessarily have the individual consumer in mind. Now, if your budget is for an IKEA-type piece of furniture, I can’t compete with that. Large furniture companies buy materials by the truckload at deep discounts and use computer controlled machinery to cut and assemble their products to increase output, decrease prices and increase margins. I design and build one project at a time with materials that are hand picked to meet client specifications. High quality materials are generally not what make custom furniture expensive - it is the labor. Each design begins with a 3-dimensional digital rendering to help visualize the look of the final piece. Time frame for final delivery and/or installation is based on current work in production, plus the time to build your piece of custom furniture" (excerpt from keithjohnsoncww.com).
