Craftsman and artist

CAREYWOOD – Clean, simple lines. Natural wood finishes that allow the beauty of the wood to show through. End tables, fireplace surrounds, restaurant bars and kitchen cabinetry. Functional, yet artistic.

For craftsman Corry Dodson making furniture is an art.

That’s apparent to Cindy Bond of Tomlinson Black in Sandpoint. She and her real estate broker husband, Jeff, have purchased many of Dodson’s pieces, including a coffee table, end tables, a bench, office furniture and kitchen cabinetry for their Hope home.

“I love having his art. His furniture – they’re art pieces,” Bond said.

The Bonds also own furniture made by Stickley, a high-end Arts and Crafts-style furniture manufacturer, and Bond said Dodson’s quality rivals that of Stickley. “Part of the fun is having a local artist do pieces in your own home,” she said. “It’s such high quality. They’re definitely collectible pieces … He did all the cabinets in our house. When people come in, they’re like ‘These cabinets are amazing.’ “

Dodson approaches furniture-making with the eye of an artist. He is an artist. He paints in acrylic, and his large paintings hang on the walls of his Careywood log cabin home that he shares with his writer wife, Catherine Gabriel.

Making furniture allows him to express his creativity in 3D and get paid for it.

“It’s not only offers a creative outlet, but monetary support,” he said. “I don’t have to do something I don’t like and then go home and do something I do like. A lot of people know what makes them happy, but haven’t figured out how to buy groceries with that.”

Dobson is booked for orders a year in advance. Though he said he could fit in some smaller pieces, it would take a year before he could start on larger projects.

“Corry’s made quite a name for himself in Sandpoint,” Bond said. His work is well-known among high-end builders. “He’s a well-kept secret and he’s real busy.”

His business comes by word-of-mouth; he doesn’t advertise. “I had 500 business cards printed in 1985. I probably have 300 left,” he said. “I never pass them out.”

Dodson’s been making furniture for about 20 years. He got started when a man he worked with asked him to make some tables. “I’d never built a table before. I stayed up for three nights trying to figure it out.”

He learned how to make furniture from reading woodworking magazines and learning what various woodworking tools do. His only “formal” training consisted of a semester of wood shop in junior high, which didn’t teach him anything, he said.

In 1988 he opened his shop.

“He’s a one-man show,” Bond said.

“I like the quiet of working alone,” Dodson said. “I like not having to drive to work, to have complete control over my hours, my time. Because of painting, I like taking something and creating something else.”

Tables, he said, are nice to build. And desks. He enjoys making functional items that people use. Cherry is one of his favorite woods and he prefers to use natural finishes.

“Pick the wood for the color you want it to be,” he said.

When people approach him about building a piece, Dodson tries to get a concrete idea of what they want.

“A lot of people say I want this piece. Just make it the way you want. I like to see a photo of what they like. It’s hard to listen to people and see the picture in their heads. It’s better to get an idea.”

Much of what Dodson builds follows the clean, straight, simple lines of Arts and Crafts and Mission-style furniture. He calls his style “contemporary.”

Bond calls his furniture beautiful.

“He builds heirloom-quality furniture,” she said.