Article courtesy of Decorah Newspapers

By Julie Berg-Raymond

Christopher Schwarz, a writer for Popular Woodworking Magazine, says he’d put this quotation on the cover of every issue, if he could:
“The things I make may be for others, but how I make them is for me.”
The man who said this, woodworker Tony Konovaloff, is a devotee of using handtools. And while Gary Gossling of Gossling Woodworking has embraced sophisticated computer technology and machinery in his own work, no utterance better describes his philosophy of fine woodworking.
Gossling, who recently opened a showroom at 115 West Water St. in downtown Decorah, has loved working with wood nearly all his life. And, other than high school shop class, he is self-taught.
“From the time I was 8 years old, I read everything (on the topic) I could get hold of, to read,” he says. “And I kept it up through high school in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s.”
“I started out with a pocket-knife and the most basic of equipment, and just whittled away,” he says.
Gossling is one of eight kids who grew up on a farm near Waucoma -- where he still runs his shop and maintains an additional showroom -- and got involved in construction for awhile after high school and, like his dad, worked as a milk hauler.
“Even when I was hauling milk, though, I wanted to get into (woodworking),” he recalls.
Having relied on word of mouth from family, friends and neighbors to promote the carpentry work that was initially a hobby, he eventually outgrew the shop he’d been using in his parents’ basement -- and then two other locations, as well -- and opened Gossling Woodworking at its present site in Waucoma.
That was more than 20 years ago. Today his shop occupies 4,500 square feet, where he offers a wide range of services and products -- from custom cabinet-making, kiln drying, lumber processing, trim and molding to reproduction work and finishing.

Decorah showroom
Andy Shull, of Waukon, works as both a sales representative and kitchen designer in the new showroom Gossling opened in Decorah in late September.
“I encourage people to come in and talk with me, even if they don’t have a project right now,” Shull says -- noting that no appointment is necessary – because he says he loves nothing better than taking people on tours of the space and answering any questions they might have about the business.
Or, more accurately, businesses.
Two other businesses share space and display their goods in the showroom – one specializing in hardwood floors and one in stonework fabrication, particularly granite and quartz.
Silver Creek Hardwood Floors, owned and operated by Shawn Leppert, is based in Northeast Iowa and serves the tri-state area.
For custom projects, the company offers everything from wide-plank flooring, hand-scraped, rustic hardwoods and reclaimed materials, to custom-made medallions, borders and inlays. They also refinish existing, old, worn and battered hardwood floors.
Johanningmeier Stone is a fully custom fabrication shop owned by Scott and Kerri Johanningmeier of Decorah.
The company specializes in natural stone such as granite, marble, limestone, travertine, soapstone and onyx along with quartz products offered by Dupont Zodiac, LG Viatera, Sileston and Staron Quartz.
With all three businesses displaying their work in one showroom, Shull says it’s easy to take care of their clients’ needs from start to finish on a project.
“We want to be a ‘one-stop-shop’ for anything related to cabinetry or woodwork,” he says – from hardwood floors to cabinets, millwork, stair parts, interior doors and counter tops; even custom solid-wood furniture.”

Custom work, factory price
Everything Gossling Woodworking does is custom-made; but while people might think the work comes at a custom price, their prices are actually competitive with factory cabinet-work in the area.
According to Gossling, they can offer this competitive pricing because of “years of honing our building techniques, and years of becoming more efficient.”
And, he adds, because of his investment in technology -- particularly software programs.
“The software enables us to use CNC (computer numerically controlled) equipment,” Gossling says -- which, in their case, cuts all the plywood parts.
“Most people don’t think a small shop like mine would have the modern equipment we have” -- or, he adds, the quality craftspeople.
“A huge part of the competitive pricing is the talented help who can do the job in a timely manner,” he says.
Gossling Woodworking employs eight full-time employees at present.
“I like that we’re creating employment for local cabinetmakers,” he says.
“It’s all local people employing other local workers to make local products,” Shull adds. “All of the value is added, by people right here at home.”
Aside from keeping money circulating in the local and area economy, there are other advantages to being a “locally grown” company.
Factory-made cabinetry can involve a lengthy process, if someone wants to make a change, Shull says.
“We have a high degree of adaptability ... If we want to implement a new piece of hardware or a new feature, it is extremely easy. We simply order it and put it in.”

Designing a kitchen
Gossling Woodworking employs two kitchen designers -- Fred Mittan in the Waucoma showroom and Shull in Decorah -- whose job is sitting down with the customer and finding out their needs and what they want.
“The biggest thing is to listen to what the homeowner wants -- and turn that into an efficient, convenient cabinet layout,” Shull says.
“Sometimes it’s hard to visualize (what you want),” Gossling adds. “But our investment in technology makes that really easy.”
Shull explains how that works, using 3-D modeling software: “We can draw the project with the customer and make changes as we go.”
Gossling says he has been pleased with the response to his new Decorah showroom, saying people have been “genuinely warm … They’re glad to see us here, and to see this building occupied. It makes me feel like we’ve chosen the right spot.”

Gossling Woodworking is holding an open house in its new Decorah showroom this Saturday, Oct. 30, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. The event is open to the public. Refreshments will be served.
Gossling Woodworking is open 10-6, Monday through Friday and other times by appointment. For more information go to www.gosslingwoodworking.com;
call the Decorah showroom at 382-9663 or the Waucoma showroom at (563) 776-9938 or e-mail info@gosslingwoodworking.com.