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.
Co-owner Ken Sevensky of
Gum Ridge Mill and Flying Pig Furniture works on a project
in his shop in Fleetwood. Photo
by Joel Frady
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 ceil-ings 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 grow-ing 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
en-joy 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 in-terest.
They use a lot of wood they either purchase second-hand or tear
down themselves, as well as crafting fur-niture 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.
“It was fun,” said Kristen of the visit by UNC-TV. “It’s
fun to meet the people that are filming and the per-son that’s
interviewing you.”
The show aired on Feb. 26-27.
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.
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, visit www.unctv.org.
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