Robert Reynolds has spent half of his life in Colorado and the other half he is spending in Arizona.
Lucky Arizona.
Reynolds just opened Sidewinder Custom Furniture Gallery in Prescott, where he sells beautiful “live edge” furniture that he makes with his own hands.
“What I do is nothing new,” he said.
He explains the furniture is made from a rustic slab of native wood, but what makes this furniture unusual and beautiful is that the edges, or the bark part of the tree, stays intact.
“I do coffee tables, benches, head boards and fireplace mantles. If there is a crack in the wood, I fill it with turquoise or copper or something like that. What makes the difference is making it available to the public. Many [furniture builders] work out of their garages,” he said. “Putting this in a retail store, they [customers] can buy an existing piece or order a custom piece.”
Customer Jesse Eller says he is happy to recommend Reynolds to anyone after the job he did on a mantle he made for him. “He did a fantastic job. Very high quality, very good work. He recommended an installer for us that also did a fantastic job.”
Besides his own creations from wood, Reynolds also sells antiques in the shop. “I’ve always liked wood furniture. I hate to see a piece of antique furniture go to waste. I find those I can repair, get out on the floor and revive it so someone else can appreciate it and use it.”
He says most antique stores look like their owners have hoarding issues. His shop is arranged like a fine furniture store and he strives to keep it uncluttered.
Reynolds is not new to the retail business world. He had a bicycle retail store for 14 years and was doing well until bike manufacturers began marketing their bikes to larger vendors.
“That left a lot of us in a bad position to make money,” he said.
Although he had a top-notch mountain biking team attached to the business, he decided to move on. And, he says, it is scary opening up a new store.
“I would have stayed in the bike industry if it hadn’t changed,” he said. “Leasing a building is always nerve-wracking. You have to have the confidence to make it work.”
And Reynolds has a lot of experience in the wood business. He worked for a large company that took on huge commercial projects. For example, one of his last projects was rebuilding the inside of the Pentagon after it was destroyed.
“We were contracted for the replacement of panels and doors. We would build the units and then truck them over to the Pentagon.”
Reynolds moved from Colorado to Arizona in 2011, reconnected with and married his Cortez High School sweetheart.
“Once when we were in high school she said, “If I married you, I would be Debbie Reynolds. Forty years later, it happened.” QCBN
What advice would you give to someone just starting out in your industry?
“The first thing is you really gotta love what you do and be good at it. You have to have six months of operating costs before you open a store.”
What was your greatest work mistake?
“Picking a bad product that didn’t sell because it was cheap. I wanted to offer something cheap and I was struck with it.”
Who do you admire and why?
“Frank Lloyd Wright. He was just an innovator and very creative. People didn’t think his designs would work, but he always proved them wrong.
What character traits do you look for in business associates?
“Honesty. A willingness to work and accept one another and help each other. Someone with a happy spirit about them.”
When was the last time you laughed really hard?
“Usually it has something to do with politics.”
Sidewinder Custom Furniture Gallery is at 401 S. Montezuma St., 928-778-5002.
By Patty McCormac, QCBN
Leave a Reply