I constantly turn around to see yet another Big Talent in a Small Town.  GREG HARKINS of Canton, Mississippi is one such talent!  Greg has been making rocking chairs for 30 years.  He has made chairs for the last four U. S. Presidents and was invited to the White House each time.  He's also made chairs for various other politicians and celebrities but mostly just common folks.  Greg still claims the most important person he's ever made a chair for is the next customer because "that's the one who puts bread on the table."  Each chair is hand made and is truly a piece of art that will be passed down through generations.
     Greg learned how to build chairs as an apprentice under a Master Chairmaker, Tom Bell.  Mr. Bell made a living building chairs for 67 years.  Greg is preserving a virtually lost craft.  He hand picks and cuts his trees, mills the lumber, turns all parts by hand & assembles the chairs at his shop in Vaughn, Mississippi.  Hardwoods typically used are bois d'arc (bodock), red oak, walnut, persimmon, or hickory.  The backs and bottoms of the chairs are woven by hand.  He uses shrink fitted technique passed down through centuries that result in an extremely durable chair of a very high quality.  Each piece is built, dated, and signed by Greg and guaranteed for life.
     Small Town Music is taking orders for Greg's "guitar" chairs.  Though they are not really guitar chairs, I call them this because they can be ordered with just one arm (see pic. of chair #1) so you can sit and play guitar without the arm being in the way.  The model shown can be ordered with any combination (left or right to suit) of no arms, short arms and regular length arms.  The cost of each chair is $650.00 U.S.

- for more info about ordering GREG'S CHAIRS contact Frazier Riddell at (601)859-8596 or use the email link below to send me a note.