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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 20, 2015)
4C THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2015 PARTING SHOTS A weekly snapshot from The Daily Astorian and Chinook Observer photographers A cyclist rides past boats in the Columbia River on a sunny Tuesday afternoon. JOSHUA BESSEX — The Daily Astorian Woodworker: Building the business ‘has just been fabulous’ Continued from Page 1C for the couple’s daughter, 11-year-old Destiny. Some mornings, she volunteers at Ocean Park School or takes care of household business. Other days, she’s free to throw herself into creating new pieces in the workshop next to their home. One sunny morning recently, Har- rington worked with the doors to the shop (formerly a hangar for a previous owner’s RV) thrown open. Wearing a heavy apron, goggles, and a headset, Harrington sorted through a collec- tion of hardwood boards that rested against the back wall. These tropi- cal and hardwoods — leopardwood, mahogany, purple heart — must be purchased in Portland, and used judi- FLRXVO\ +DUULQJWRQ KDG UHFHQWO\ ¿Q- ished several customer orders, so she was planning to work on a ‘thank you’ gift for Lynn. She planned to use a tongue-and-groove technique to make a set of benches from a mix of woods. 2QFH VDQGHG DQG ¿QLVKHG HDFK VODW would have its own color and distinc- tive grain pattern. After selecting the wood, Harrington moved between saws, which she used to cut them to length, and a planer, which she used to level each board to the same height. Eventually, she returned to her table to lay them all out and it was possible to JHWDVHQVHRIKRZWKH¿QLVKHGSURGXFW would look — simultaneously rustic DQGUH¿QHGKRPH\DQGH[RWLF With the exception of her Face- book page, Harrington doesn’t adver- tise. She relies on word-of-mouth and return business. It takes time, but it’s Ali Harrington in her Ocean Park workshop, where she makes traditional wooden furniture. working. She doesn’t mind the wait. Growing her business slowly has PDGH LW SRVVLEOH WR UH¿QH KHU VW\OH to perfect her technique, and to create products she’s always proud to stand behind. There are other rewards too. Destiny isn’t old enough to use the heavy machinery in the shop, but she loves to help Harrington clean and organize. There’s nothing like being able to balance these quiet family moments with creating products that bring glowing reactions from her cus- NATALIE ST. JOHN — EO Media Group tomers. Building this business, she said, Sunlight soaks the various tools and adhesives used by Harrington in her Ocean Park workshop. “has just been fabulous.” NATALIE ST. JOHN — EO Media Group Harrington takes a “no nails” approach to her woodworking, using traditional methods like tongue and groove to put her pieces together. NATALIE ST. JOHN EO Media Group W hile other n ew spa pers give you less, The D a ily Astoria n GIVES YOU M ORE O u r n ew C APITAL B UREAU covers the sta te for you From left: Peter W on g, H illa ry Borru d , M a teu sz Perk ow sk i
