Greg Harkins uses techniques passed down from the mid-1800s. He has made chairs for more than 25 years, three of these as an apprentice under a Master Chairmaker, Tom Bell who made a living building chairs for 67 years.
Greg is a graduate of Mississippi State University with a B.S. in Psychology. He is a Fellow Member and sat on the Board of Directors for the Craftsmen’s Guild of Mississippi. He is also a member of the American Craft Council and the Louisiana Craft Council.
Greg is preserving a virtually lost craft. He cuts his trees, mills the lumber, turns all parts by hand, assembles chairs and other furniture, finishes, and sells his creations. He uses shrink fitted technique passed down through centuries that result in extremely durable furniture of a very high quality.
Each piece is made, dated, and signed by Greg and guaranteed for life. Greg hand picks trees for lumber to make his chair parts. A chair takes approximately 25 hours to make. The backs and bottoms of the chairs are woven by hand.
In a recent interview, Greg was asked how he is able to do so many different things? His reply with a laugh was, “Well, I don’t do them all at once.”
