10
vernonia’s
july/aug
voice craftsman
2007
Dan Brown–the work of a perfectionist
By Scott Laird
Dan Brown is a perfectionist. Ask anyone who has
worked closely with him on a community project. Or ask
anyone who has served with him on a city committee.
Or talk to anyone who has had him install a kitchen. Or
ask Dan’s wife, Heidi, if Dan is a perfectionist. “Oh my
goodness, Yes!” says
Heidi Brown, “Dan is
VERY detail-oriented.”
Dan and Heidi Brown are the
owners of the Grey Dawn Gal-
lery on Bridge Street in Vernonia.
They also run Hardwood Origi-
nals, a furniture and cabinet shop,
located in the back of the gallery.
Dan is the woodworker, Heidi
manages the gallery but is often
found helping in the workshop
with sanding and oiling. When I
went to talk with Dan about his
work, what I wanted to know
was, “Do you consider yourself
a woodworker, a craftsman, or
an artist?” In lieu of a straight
answer, Dan said “I’m a perfec-
tionist.”
Dan notes he’s always been interested in crafts. He really got involved while
taking wood shop in high school, and his talent must have been evident. Shop
teacher Terry Nimz hired Dan to build cabinets for him during the summer. He
graduated from Vernonia High School in 1978 and received a Bachelors Degree in
Religious Education from Prairie Bible Institute, located in the tiny town of Three
Hills, about 30 miles north of Calgary, in Alberta, Canada.
When asked if he considers himself an artist, Dan hesitates, then replies “Yes,
in my design and in my construction. It helps that people tell me they think so.” I
then asked how he gets his ideas. “An artist is often inspired by something else,”
he said, “whether something from nature or their surroundings. So you take what
you know and make something different. I get a lot of inspiration from outside
myself.”
“An artist is often inspired by something else,” Dan says.
“Whether something from nature or their surroundings.
So you take what you know and make something
different. I get a lot of inspiration from outside myself.”
Paying close attention to detail is what separates a woodworker from a crafts-
man. “You start out trying to do your best. You realize you’re a craftsman when
people start saying it. You compare yourself to other people’s work, and then you
know how good you are,” Dan said. “There are plenty of people out there doing
amazing work, much better than what
I do.” Dan’s also very modest, as his
work is truly that of a seasoned crafts-
man.
Dan has certainly evolved his craft
since those early days, and lately
has been inspired by a style called
Intarsia, that he first noticed at craft
and furniture shows. Intarsia uses
sculptured pieces that are cut with a
jigsaw, then fit together to create three
dimensional pictures. Although they
are often used as wall hangings, Dan
prefers to create functional pieces
instead, like dressers and tables.
Dan doesn’t always get to use his
skills as art, especially in the kitchens
and cabinets he designs and builds.
However, some kitchens do take some
real artistic work. “People who’ve
had Dan install a kitchen for them refer to them as a Dan Brown Kitchen,” says
Heidi. Often, if they move, they call up and say, “We must have our Dan Brown
Kitchen in the new house!”
The idea for the Gallery began through Dan’s work on the City Planning Com-
mission. Through this appointment, Dan had the opportunity to attend a “Livable
Oregon Conference”. One of the sessions was about multi-use buildings in down-
town corridors which inspired thoughts of moving their shop to Vernonia.
Dan discussed the idea of the gallery with his friend and then-local artist/pho-
tographer Christopher Burkett.
“We thought, why not a gallery
in Vernonia?” said Dan. The gal-
lery was launched in a multi-use
space, part gallery/part workshop,
and featured local artists – Chris-
topher Burkett, Jeff Patterson, and
Dan’s sister Ruth Brown, as well
as Dan’s woodworking pieces.
The Browns started Hardwood
Originals in Manning next to the
Village Market in 1987. They
moved to Vernonia in 2000 into
their current location on Bridge
Street. The new location became
a big project. They first at-
tempted to renovate the existing
structure which was originally
Bergeson’s Hardware, and then
Nichol’s Variety store. “It was
a mess,” Dan said. “We tried
to salvage some of the original
lumber from the structure. There were just too many problems.” They finally
decided they needed to rebuild from the ground up.
Now Dan splits his work between kitchens and furniture and has a year and
a half to two years’ wait list for his services. He knows he won’t be able to do
woodworking forever. It’s very hard, physical work, but both Dan and Heidi are
looking forward to increased business with their gallery.
Dan and Heidi
have had a long-
term vision for
the downtown
core, and have
high hopes for the
future of Ver-
nonia. With the
opening of Stub
Stewart State Park
and the Bicycle
Skills Park, they
expect an influx of
visitors to the area
and an increase in
gallery traffic.
In addition to
being a crafts-
man and business
owner, Dan is
very involved in the community and at home. He’s chairman
of the Planning Commission, has been instrumental in the
planning of the Bicycle Skills Park, and almost single hand-
edly completed the Archway Project – the installation of the
two metal archways at the entrance to the pocket parks on
Bridge Street. Dan is also an elder at his church and father
of two teenagers.
Dan has been known to leave committee meetings in the
late evening and head back to his workshop to finish a proj-
ect. So, when you see the lights burning late at night in the
Browns’ workshop behind the Grey Dawn Gallery, know that
a perfectionist’s work is never done.
The Grey Dawn Gallery is located at 879 Bridge Street and
is open Monday-Saturday, 10am-5pm.