From household items to custom furniture
Nighthawk offers edge up
MAY 7, 2021, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A13
of the Week
presented by
BUSIN SS
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
Computer programming just wasn’t
cutting it for Miles Christy. So, he turned
to woodworking.
“When I was younger, my grandfa-
ther was a carpenter and I followed him
and my dad around everywhere when
they were working around the house.
My interest in woodworking grew out of
that,” said Christy, owner of Nighthawk
Woodworking. “A few years ago, some
friends started asking me if I could make
some items for them and the business
grew out of that.”
He launched the business as a full-time
endeavor in 2019 and runs it out of his home
in south Keizer. Prospective customers
can view his handiwork at www.facebook.
com/nighthawk.woodworking or at www.
etsy.com/shop/NighthawkWoodworking.
He’s also a drop-in vendor at Salem Public
Market when spaces become available, he
posts those notifi cations to the business
Facebook page.
“Because of the pandemic, I’ve been
working on a lot of smaller projects such
as gift boxes and cutting boards,” Christy
said. Key racks, which now pull double
duty for face masks, are another popular
item. “It’s fun to be able to knock out the
smaller projects, but my real passion is in
custom furniture.”
Christy takes on custom furniture proj-
ects ranging from smaller cabinets and
bookshelves to headboards and coff ee
tables that are designed-to-suit.
“People can go to a furniture store to
fi nd something they like but it isn’t exactly
the right size. My goal is to help them get
the look they want that also fi ts exactly
where they want it,” he said. “If somebody
wants arts and crafts, I can do that. If they
want something more modern with a live
edge on hairpin legs, I can do those, too.”
Epoxy and resin work are the only thing
he tries to avoid.
“I consult with customers and come up
BOB BUSCH
Where and how
do you volunteer? 
Miles Christy runs Nighthawk Woodworking out of his home in south Keizer. BELOW: Some
of the smaller items Christy creates when between custom furniture orders.
Photo by ERIC A. HOWALD of Keizertimes
with a design before tak-
ing any money because
I want to make sure
they’ll be happy with the
results,” Christy said.
Conversations
about
custom projects can
be started at either the
Facebook or Etsy pages.
Even if he and the cus-
tomer can’t fi nd a way forward, he fi les the
design in hope a future customer identifi es
it as the piece of their
dreams.
“My main goal is
just to provide that cus-
tom furniture at a more
aff ordable price. For
me, the joy is in having
something I can see
and hold in my hands
at the end of the day,”
Christy said. “It’s a long way from chang-
ing a couple of lines of code each day.”
ASK MR. TRASH
A. Be very careful
Q. I heard about China’s ban on recycling.
What IS recyclable now?
Please keep the following good recyclables empty, clean & dry:
©1986
• Cardboard and uncoated greyboard
boxes (Shipping & cereal type).
No frozen food boxes!
• Print-quality paper - newspaper, junk & office paper, and magazines
• Tin & Aluminum Cans Only - NO foil, trays, or scrap metal
• Plastic Bottles and Jugs Only - NO bags, tubs, clamshells, bubble Pak, or other plastics.
to only recycle
the things on
your hauler’s
approved list.
NOTE: PLASTIC BAGS,
STYROFOAM, & WAXY
CARTONS WERE
NEVER RECYCLABLE!
Serving Keizer for Nearly 50 years!
LOREN'S
VA L L E Y
SANITATION & RECYCLING SERVICE, INC.
RECYCLING & DISPOSAL, INC.
503.393.2262
503.585.4300
"I currently volunteer in numerous
places but primarily as a CASA (Court
Appointed Special Advocates) of
Marion County where I advocate for
children in the foster care system
here is Marion County in court. I
also volunteer with other agencies
in Keizer (chair the Keizer Points of
Interest Committee, Keizer Heritage
Museum Board of Directors, Keizer
Homegrown Theatre Board of
Directors, rep to Keizer Chamber,
Claggett Creek Watershed Council
Board of Directors, Keizer Church
of Christ - various roles, and other
community activities). If I am not
able to help assist someone or an
agency physically then I will look into
helping them out fi nancially. I used
to be a volunteer Keizer Fire District
fi refi ghter/EMTB and used to chair
the Red Cross blood drives that were
held there."
How would you get
others to volunteer
in their community?
"When an agency or someone has a
need and posts something about it on
Facebook, I will share their post and, if
I have been a part of it before, I will tell
people that I am open to answering
questions they may have about
time commitments, duties involved,
etc. I have even heard back from
someone who said in an interview for
a volunteer position that she knew me
and fi gured if I could do it, she could
do it. I will also make announcements
at Chamber meetings about needs
that I know about."