'North Carolina Weekend' Showcases Gum Ridge Mill

By Joel Frady

Three years after quitting their full-time jobs in the medical field and deciding to work full-time at their own

business, Fleetwood residents Ken and Kristen Sevensky will see the fruit of their efforts recognized on UNC-TV's North Carolina Weekend. The weekly program showcases events and businesses from around the state, and were drawn to the business the Sevensky's have spent the last eight years creating, Gum Ridge Mill and Flying Pig Furniture.

Unlike most furniture manufacturers, who use new wood, Gum Ridge Mill specializes in taking old wood from abandoned houses and barns and using the wood to create new furniture or build staircases and ceilings in new houses.

Ken Sevensky said that neither he nor his wife were into carpentry before they built their house, but were active in the process of using old wood to build several elements of their house.

They had torn down several old buildings in the process, and "ended up with about three buildings that we had dismantled and stored on the property." When their house was finished, they wondered what to do with the wood.

But people started calling wanting old wood for flooring, or for Sevensky to build a table for them from old wood, and Gum Ridge Mill began to form.

"It grew from the occasional Saturday morning to all of Saturday to Saturday plus a couple days after work until every night until 2 a.m.," he said. By 2005, the Sevenskys were forced to choose between their growing business and their work with the Mountain Hearts program at Ashe Memorial Hospital, where they worked in chronic disease management.

But the passion for old wood had taken over the Sevenskys.

"I love taking old wood and knowing what's underneath, the character it's going to reveal," said Ken. "I enjoy the history of building and providing a product … and I think we're fairly unique in taking old wood and providing a product."

Kristen Sevensky added that she knew nothing about it when they first started.

"I thought the old barns that you see out in the countryside and in the mountains were beautiful," she said. "As soon as Ken showed me one of the boards and what it looked like, how much character it had, and that he could tell me exactly what building it came from and the story of the family … that really peaked my interest.

They use a lot of wood they either purchase second-hand or tear down themselves, as well as crafting furniture from wood that customers bring to them.

"People want to preserve the history of the wood they bring to Gum Ridge Mill," Ken said.

Kristen noted that she also enjoys running a family business that allows them to spend time with their three children: Emma Kate, 8; Hatch, 6; and Curtis, 2.

"I do all the business side and the advertising side, and Ken is just across the field working in his shop," she said.

Now, their business will be featured by Weekend in a segment set to air on Thursday, Feb. 26, at 9 p.m.

"It was fun," said Kristen of the visit by UNC-TV. "It's fun to meet the people that are filming and the person that's interviewing you."

Although the Weekend segment will be the first to hit the airwaves, it wasn't the first visit that Gum Ridge Mill got from a camera crew. They had previous filmed a segment for Farmer's Almanac TV that was set to air in the winter of 2008, but was postponed due to the network's financial difficulties.

In addition to operating Gum Ridge Mill, Ken Sevensky also spends his free time organizing the annual Blue Ridge Relay, a 208-mile relay race that is held for two days in September. Now in it's fifth year, the relay starts in Grayson County, Va., and ends near Asheville.

Anyone unable to see the segment on North Carolina Weekend can catch it when the program is rebroadcast on Friday, Feb. 27, at 7 p.m.

To find out more about Gum Ridge Mill and Flying Pig Furniture, click to www.gumridgemill.com or call (336) 877-8888. To find out more about UNC-TV, click to www.unctv.org.