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Meticulous Workmanship

We have a favorite set of four ceramic kitchen canisters and, inevitably, the lid of the largest one fell and broke one day.  A week before Christmas, intending to surprise my wife, I asked on Facebook: Who might make a custom lid out of wood, which I could paint red to match the rest of the set?  The replies were many but only one name was suggested: Randy Barker.  It turns out he lives only a half mile away and I knew his father, among many other mutual acquaintances; just had never met Randy before.  Well, my wife caught on before the lid was finished, but by Christmas we did have a custom lid — made of cherry! — to match the rest of the set.  I found matching paint, and the set is restored.  I don’t think I have to say a thing about the workmanship and the care he took to size it just right.  The photos at his web site give testimony to that.  Now we’re talking with him about a custom tabletop made from some eight-foot heritage pine planks.  We’re glad we put the word out!  -David Woodbury, Lincoln, Maine, January 9, 2018-