Log furniture business thrives on low, high tech

Dan Booterbaugh traces the roots of his career to a high school elective that may be heading toward extinction: wood shop.

“When I was a senior,” he recalled, “I had two wood shop classes, and the teacher would leave the shop open after school so we could work on stuff. My favorite tool was the lathe.”

Today, wood shop courses are routinely dropped in favor of STEM electives – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – or they’re tweaked to reflect today’s priorities and renamed “pre-engineering.”

Booterbaugh has thrived by embracing both high tech and low tech. Soon after launching his North Idaho Log Furniture Co. two decades ago, he built a website to market his rustic creations.

Now he ships furniture and accessories to every state except Hawaii, and his store at 5872 N. Government Way in Coeur d’Alene has a wall covered with testimonials from enthusiastic customers.

During a recent interview, Booterbaugh discussed how customers’ tastes have changed, where he finds good logs and what he wished he’d done differently.

S-R: When did you start building furniture?

Booterbaugh: In high school wood shop when I was 16, in El Segundo, California. The first thing I built was a maple cabinet for my mom.

S-R: How did it turn out?

Booterbaugh: Awesome. We had a really good wood shop teacher. From there I went on to build a canopy bed that won a Rotary award, and a coffee table/end table set.

S-R: Did you go to college?

Booterbaugh: I went to junior college.

S-R: What was your first job?

Booterbaugh: Working in a mom-and-pop lumber yard. I’ve been in the lumber industry from the start – sales, truck driver, forklift operator.

S-R: What brought you to North Idaho?

Booterbaugh: We came up here to visit friends and fell in love with it.

S-R: How did you get into the log furniture business?

Booterbaugh: My neighbor, an older guy, was building log furniture, so I partnered up with him for about a year. He was on his way out, and I was more motivated because I had two little kids, so I started my own business.

S-R: Was it successful from the start?

Booterbaugh: We always had orders coming in and stayed busy. I wasn’t making a ton of money, but we gradually grew to a decent six-figure business before the economy crashed in ’08. We struggled for two or three years, and then they tore up our road (Government Way), which didn’t help. But we’ve bounced back. Last year was better than the previous year, and we’re looking really good this year.

S-R: How has the business changed since the mid-1990s?

Booterbaugh: We have a storefront now, and we’ve had a website since 1996. Keeping up with the Internet and on top of search-engine lists has been the biggest challenge. We try to be one of the first things you see when you punch in “log furniture,” “log beds,” “log dressers.” We also work hard to keep up with the social media aspect of everything – Facebook, Twitter – because everybody’s using their smartphones. We have a smartphone app, so you can pull up our website on your phone.

S-R: Where did you learn about e-marketing?

Booterbaugh: My wife and I are pretty much self-taught. We designed our logo and did a lot of the Internet work ourselves.

S-R: Have customer tastes changed in the past two decades?

Booterbaugh: Yes. People are more into the timberframe look – 6-by-6-inch posts and 4-by-4 spindles. Barnboard has gotten big, too.

S-R: Any unusual requests?

Booterbaugh: We get all kinds of things – handrails with twigs. Or incorporating metal art. We work with a guy who has a plasma cutter for that. I’ve also done log cake stands and log arbors for rustic weddings.

S-R: What’s your job description?

Booterbaugh: From finding logs and building furniture to sales and paying the bills. My wife mostly handles the Internet.

S-R: Building furniture and retail sales require two very different skills. Which do you prefer?

Booterbaugh: Building furniture. (laugh)

S-R: How has the job evolved?

Booterbaugh: When I first started, I put in 12-hour days six or seven days a week. Now I have a couple of good employees – one has been with me 10 years – so I can get out of here sometimes.

S-R: Is good wood getting harder to find?

Booterbaugh: Yes, and I’m paying more for standing-dead lodgepole and ponderosa pine now.

S-R: Where do you get it?

Booterbaugh: Mostly from private parties in Idaho and Montana. Sometimes if firewood cutters get into a nice lodgepole stand, they’ll let me know.

S-R: What do you like most about your job?

Booterbaugh: The creativity – building something different every day, then standing back and seeing what I’ve accomplished. That’s really gratifying.

S-R: What do you like least?

Booterbaugh: Trying to keep the logs dry in the winter.

S-R: What’s been your best idea?

Booterbaugh: Getting online early. Everyone was building a website, and I thought, “Why can’t I do it?”

S-R: Are others around here making log furniture?

Booterbaugh: Yeah, there are a few – mostly guys working out of their garage.

S-R: Does your furniture typically end up in cabins?

Booterbaugh: No, a lot of people with contemporary homes will do their whole basement in rustic – kind of a man-cave theme.

S-R: If someone were to order a custom, king-size bed today, how long would they have to wait for delivery?

Booterbaugh: Six weeks.

S-R: What’s it take to succeed in this business?

Booterbaugh: You have to have a good eye for logs and lumber, but also imagination. It’s not like you just start pulling lumber off a rack. There’s always a best place for each log to go on a bed or a table base.

S-R: What did it cost to start the business?

Booterbaugh: Probably $5,000.

S-R: What’s it worth now?

Booterbaugh: Maybe $200,000.

S-R: Anything you wish you’d done differently?

Booterbaugh: I’ve rented for 20 years. I wish I’d bought a building when things were cheaper, because now real estate prices are sky-high. My business would be worth more if it included the building.