Hello, My name is William Ray, and I live down south in the beautiful Aiken, South Carolina. I am married to the love of my life Whitney, (Established 11/16/13) and I work for a government facility in Aiken doing drafting work for an engineering group. I give all honor to Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. Without Him, I couldn't do anything.
My interest in woodworking first started at a young age. I would run to my dads shop and screw scrap pieces of wood together, and at the time, I thought I was awesome! My interest in woodworking really started to peak in March of 2013 after I proposed to my beautiful girlfriend Whitney! We set the wedding date for November 16th 2013 and we were so excited! Then reality hit me, I needed somewhere for me and my beautiful new bride to live! So the search began and we finally ended up getting a great deal on a local foreclosure! I had this very awesome but very EMPTY house. I searched for furniture that was reasonably priced and that wasn't made of particle board or MDF. Hmm.... Wow! This was hard to find in today's market. I couldn't stand the thought of spending my hard earned money on cheap furniture that wouldn't last. I am a hard core thrift store shopper so I ended up finding a couple pieces in the area, but they still weren't exactly what I was looking for.
Our wedding was a rustic/vintage theme and just to give you a visual, our reception was in a big red barn! Whitney found a ton of great ideas on Pinterest, included some really cool vintage signs that quoted "to have and to hold", "from this day forward", "for better or for worse", "till death do us part and a really cool rustic kissing booth. I told her that I would love to make them for her. We were going to line the driveway to the barn with the signs and set the kissing booth up inside as a photo booth! As I was making the old signs and the booth from pallet wood, the thought really hit me! I could totally make our furniture!
I began looking online for plans and inspiration, and finally stumbled across Ana's site. I saw how easy to follow her plans were, and how inexpensive materials could be transformed into awesome pieces of furniture that really captured mine and Whitney's style.
I started running ideas about DIY furniture by Whitney and at first, I really think she thought I was crazy or just joking around. Then I started buying materials from local lumber yards and making furniture in my garage! I loved the idea of making pieces that we both would be able to appreciate when Whitney was finally able to move in with me after the honeymoon. After the first pieces that I made, (rustic coffee table and end tables) I think the reality hit her that I wasn't just joking around. Soon I had multiple furniture orders from my wife which makes me really happy! I find such satisfaction when I get to make a piece of furniture that she really wants. My goal is to eventually be able to say that I handcrafted every single piece of furniture in my home! (I'm getting really close)
Soon after I started making furniture and home decor, I began receiving Facebook and text messages from friends and even total strangers begging me to make them something.
Ana's site has encouraged me to create a lot of my own plans and designs. With my drafting and CAD experience I am able to create my own plans and drawings. Something that started off as a hobby has really turned into a passion and an addiction!
I think that's about it! If you actually made it to the end of this forever long about me section, thank you for reading! Take a look at some of my pieces!
Have a blessed day!