The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
By David Grimes, Quill Correspondent
Kirkwood Attorney Bill Gullberg used to feel deprived when his friends took shop in high school and he couldn't because he was busy taking college prep courses like Latin 30-plus years ago.
But he still got to work with his hands, of necessity, later on when he found himself in need of an end table while pursuing his undergraduate degree at Western Illinois University in Macomb.
"A professor saw it and asked if I would make a piece of furniture for him," Gullberg said.
His work as an attorney in private practice keeps Gullberg busy with the likes of bankruptcies, wills and family law, but he still seizes every opportunity to work in his 24' by 36' shop.
Gullberg is one of only about 40 chairwrights nationwide to take the craft seriously enough to have achieved nationwide fame. His reputation and demand for his craftsmanship has grown in demand to the point that he employs two shop assistants to help him keep orders filled.
Gullberg conducts woodworking workshops as well as attends them, often opening his home as a weekend bed and breakfast at those times.
His work has been recognized at competitions and can be found in homes and offices across the United States. And a Gullberg piece was purchased in 1998 to be placed in the James Thompson Building in Chicago.
And he would just as soon smell the aroma of fresh wood shavings and listen to the whine and whir of lathes, saws and sanders as pursue legal matters.
It may have something to do with the customers each profession attracts, he suspects.
"When people come to me seeking help with legal matters, they may be down and discouraged about a bankruptcy or family problem they're trying to work through. But when a customer comes to buy a piece of furniture, they're looking forward to the visit. They've saved and planned this purchase of an item they really want to have in their home. They're upbeat and eager with anticipation when they come here," Gullberg said.
But he is a pragmatist, and realizes that without his private law practice, there would be no flexible time to schedule in his first love.
Gullberg said he has never considered himself as being talented in woodworking but does acknowledge possessing an interest and skill in the craft.
He began to read up on woodworking, gleaning information from any source he could find during his college days and has never stopped educating himself about the skill.
As he learned, he created more challenging and demanding pieces tavern tables, wardrobes, hope chests, cradles and Windsor chairs.
The passion followed Gullberg to law school at the University of Illinois in Champaign and his love of woodworking gradually became an infatuation with the Windsor chair.
But when he went to work for Continental Bank in Chicago to work in corporate law after graduating law school, his time working with his hands became more limited. Disenchanted and ready for a permanent move back to his home area, Gullberg and his wife Chris moved to Kirkwood in 1997 and into the venerable old Davidson House, an Italianate-style home constructed in 1879.
The secret to creating a piece that will last generations if not centuries is found in the type of wood and method of construction, according to Gullberg.
Proper construction is achieved with a mix of hand and power tools and giving the wood the proper time to dry.
Gullberg gets his wood from wherever it is most plenteous, of top quality and found at a good price.
Walnut, for instance, is abundant in west central Illinois, while prime maple, oak and basswood may come from elsewhere.
"The Tioga Forest, known for some of the best cherry anywhere in northwest Pennsylvania was burned toward the end of the 1700s, after it had been clean cut for lumber," he said. "Now it's all pine. But there is still good quality cherry to be found in the state."
Examples of Gullberg's first love, the Windsor chair, grace the first level of his home. The Sack Back, the Bow Back and the Continuous Arm Windsors are all on display and each with a story behind them. The Bird Cage style for example, he pointed out, was used in the portico of Jefferson's Monticello.
And a walnut tavern table in the dining room can comfortable seat six or ten guests, or up to 14 individuals with the addition of company boards.
Gullberg also produces superb hope chests, wardrobes and rockers.
Asked whether he would rather be absorbed in the busyness of the legal cases he is currently involved in or spend the day in his woodworking shop, Gullberg responded with a question of his own. "What do you think?"
Bill Gullberg can be reached at his e-mail address, Bill@chairwright.com, or at Chairwright, 445 West Walnut, P.O. Box 340, Kirkwood, IL 61447, (309) 768-2247.