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Our latest guest on the Appalachian Podcast has been creating amazing woodworks since the early age of 17. Eddie Austin started his work when he was a laid off at a local restaurant as a dishwasher, and was hired on by his girlfriend’s(now wife’s) father at his woodshop. The woodshop was always slammed with orders, so they needed someone to come in from time to time to sweep the floors. It was there that Eddie developed his passion in woodworking, unearthing and nurturing his passion for art that he has always had. His first working project was a Valentine’s Day gift for his girlfriend, a cherry jewelry box about the size of a book. She even still has it to this day.
He was born and raised in Lincoln County, also where he works out of his woodshop in Hamlin. He has had multiple job offers from various states, but has always loved West Virginia. He went to college and graduated in wood working from the University of Rio Grande in Ohio, then returned to his home here in West Virginia. He eventually ended up buying the wood shop and created his own business in the same building.
His business truly developed by submitting works to the Tamarack (all of which have sold). The pushing point for his business was early on when a client noticed his work, and had Eddie outfit countless of offices and houses with his woodworking. He is still a faithful client to this day, and that leap of faith in his work allowed Eddie to go full time with his business.
He talks of how he is always a woodworker first. Eddie will spend countless hours developing amazing unique pieces of art for his clients and easily lose track of time. After spending tens of hours at the shop, he can go home and easily talk about his work day for another few hours. It’s easily his passion and he never tire of it. Each client wants something unique for their house or office, and they will trust Eddie with the artistic decision, even down to the paint color. After doing it for 20 years, people trust his eye and ability to create something that they know they will love.
One piece of work includes our conference table here at JJN Multimedia. The table itself uses beautiful 150-200 year old boards from an old post office in Pennsylvania, that were originally full of nails that he had to reclaim and refinish into the beautiful piece of art it is today. Amazing butterfly joints hold the boards together, so that when the weather changes, the boards can breathwithout splitting apart. It also features a custom metal inlay of the JJN Multimedia logo, laser cut out of metal and carved into the wood itself. The table legs are two beautiful huge pieces of trapezoid black metal that give it a modern feel. Every client that walks into our office gush at how beautiful our table is, and we always brag on how well Eddie has done for us. It’s easy to see why customers give him trust with his creative direction.
You can find him also mentoring and teaching crew members at an organization called Coalfield Development, where there at Saw’s Edge Woodshop, he trains crew members in a two-year woodshop program at Saw’s Edge. After the two years they spend there, they can then say they have at least two years of experience working. This falls into their 33 hours a week of work (that they get paid for), 6 hours a week of community college, and 3 hours of professional or personal development. They also boast a 100% job placement, and Eddie talks of how some crew members he trains sometimes have never even picked up a hammer. He loves passing along the knowledge he has learned from his father and his previous works. They also have never have an accident, “Safety first, then technique.”
Eddie Austin is very driven in his work, and it’s amazing to see someone flourish doing something they love in rural Appalachia. That’s why he was an easy choice for our podcast, and we loved having him on. You can visit his website and see much of his work at https://www.eddieaustinwoodworks.com/. Don’t forget to follow him on his social medias as well where he just as active. His Instagram alone has many of his beautiful works. Definitely give our latest episode a listen today!