Todd Woodesign
  • Home
  • Torq Table
  • Live Edge Furniture
  • Swoop Tables
    • Drum Top Tables
    • End Tables
    • Cocktail Tables
    • Pedestal Tables
    • Straight Console Tables
    • Bow Front Console Tables
    • Coffee Tables
    • Various Custom Swoop Tables >
      • Long Quilted Maple Console Table
      • Dual Coffee Table
      • Corner Table
      • Trolley Table
    • Other Tables >
      • Monster Table
  • Modern Furniture
    • Modern Dining Room >
      • Modern Sideboard : "Crebola"
      • Liquor Cabinet #1
      • Liquor Cabinet #2
      • 2 Colour Dining Table
    • Modern Living Room >
      • Ultra Modern Wall Unit
      • Coffee Bench Project
      • Cubic Entertainment Unit
      • Bow Front Stereo Cabinet
      • 16 Foot Modern Bookcase
      • Wine Storage Unit
    • Modern Bedroom >
      • Modern Bed
      • Modern Armoire
      • Pod Bedroom Cabinets
      • Pod Bookcase
      • Bedside Tables
    • Modern Home Office >
      • Home Office and Display
      • Computer Armoire
  • Traditional Furniture
    • Traditional Living Room >
      • Home Office
      • Traditional Shaker Wall Unit
      • Traditional Shaker Entertainment Unit
      • Maple Stepped Back Wall Unit
      • (Slightly Traditional) Side to side Entertainment Unit
      • Olde World Wall Unit
      • Shaker Fireplace Surround Unit
      • Shaker Fireplace Surround #2
    • Traditional Dining Room >
      • Demilune Liquor Cabinet
      • Traditional Dining Room Table
      • Traditional Solid Cherry Sideboard
    • Traditional Bed and Bath >
      • Traditional Bedroom >
        • Beds
        • Shaker Fireplace Surround 2
        • Dressers
        • Dixon Dry Sink
        • Armoires
      • Traditional Bathroom
  • Smaller Pieces
    • Mantel Clocks
    • Small Boxes >
      • Dart Boxes
      • Penboxes
    • Wall Hung "Katinka" Cabinets
    • The Twin Cabinets of 911
    • Jewelry Cabinet
    • Top 20 CD Cabinets & "10x"
    • Judy's Wine Bucket Stand
  • Non-Functional Pieces
    • "Stages"
    • "As Is"
    • "Really Tall, Really Red Table"
  • Other Jobs
    • The Jamaica Job
    • Adirondacks
    • The Tree Fort
    • The Casket Job
    • The Grinding Job
  • Kitchen Stuff
    • My Kitchen
    • Wellington West
    • Center Wellington Island
    • Guelph Bar and Built In
    • Guelph Kitchen
    • Wellington North Kitchen
  • Carpentry
  • End Grain Cutting Boards
  • Gifts
  • Misc. Drawings
  • Pricing and Timing
  • About Jim Todd
  • In Stock Now
  • Contact
"Dead End Job"
Picture
Picture
In the late 90's, I was approached by someone to take on a challenging position. The story was a bit fuzzy at first, but basically he needed me to finish setting up a 6000 sqft. woodworking plant in North Bay, and then finish off developing the prototypes and get the operation up and running, where a German consulting firm had left off. I said: "Sounds interesting, what kind of furniture is it?"   His reply: "Caskets." 

The deal was that the casket industry had suddenly changed in a way that invited new players into a once tight club. You see, it was now "legal" for a person to buy a casket from one place, and then have the funeral home accept it and use it in their services. Before, a funeral home was allowed to say that they would not accept a casket from outside their organization. As the rules had changed, it sounded like a new opportunity into a huge market. 

It meant that I would temporarily put my tools and equipment in storage and move up to the land of rocks and trees. Since I was still a single guy, I saw the adventure and the well paying job offer as an exciting new chapter in my work and in my life, so I made a trip up Hwy 11 to check it out the facilities.

The whole adventure lasted about 2 1/2 years before it was laid to rest. (Oh ya, and... every shift was the graveyard shift. There were more of those, we had to keep a sense of humour.)

I was very lucky to meet some great people in North Bay, including my land lord (who I nicknamed "the landlard").  We played hockey on Lake Nipissing, tried making some bad wine, burned a lot of casket scraps at the lakeside campfire, jammed, went camping, went cross country skiing and enjoyed enough other activities to balance out life. John Lennon's quote applies: "Life is what happens to you when you make other plans."

Oh, and as you see me in the pic above, I'll tell you that these things are not at all comfortable. My boss pointed out though, that the customer never complains.


Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.