Authentic antiques: New store offers hand-crafted furniture

LEWISTOWN - Two local men have joined forces to open a new retail store in Mifflin County that specializes in antique furniture reproductions.

Primworks LLC is the name of the business created by partners Paul “Butch” Richard and Barry Marker, both of Lewistown. The new store is located at 821 Electric Ave., near Berube’s Crystal Clear Water.

“We don’t build craft furniture. We take the extra step to use authentic hardware and designs for our products,” Richard said. “Our furniture is made of durable inch-thick lumber, and it is all crafted by hand.”

Primworks offers a wide selection of handmade wooden furniture, such as cabinets, dry sinks, vanities, benches and grandfather clocks. Most items are available in a variety of sizes, styles and finishes.

The store also offers a selection of handmade accessories, such as lamps, throws and candles.

“We offer a lifetime warranty on every piece we sell,” Richard said.

The store’s Web site, www.primworksllc.com, allows customers to view its product selection and retail prices online. A catalog of the store’s merchandise also is planned for publication in the near future, Richard said.

Richard describes himself as a person who has “dabbled in woodworking all of my life.” He began making antique reproductions in 2002 and was approached last year with a proposition from Marker.

“Barry came to me with ideas about how we could take the business a step further and greatly increase the product selection and the size of our market,” Richard said.

Marker said he first gained experience with cabinet making when he was a student at the vo-tech school, before it was known as The Mifflin-Juniata Career and Technology Center.

“I’ve worked in various construction jobs for all of my life. Butch and I first talked about this three or four years ago, but the timing wasn’t right,” Marker said.

“My son, Lee, and I decided to get out of the home construction business last January. That was when we started making cabinets full time,” he said.

The partnership with Richard developed from there, and the business now has six employees, including two of Marker’s children. His son, Lee, is a full-time cabinet maker. His daughter, Janine, relocated from Boston to help her father get the store up and running.

“Dad eventually offered me a job as office manager … it is one of the many hats I wear,” Janine Marker said.

Richard said the store recently was approached by QVC to offer one of its products on the home shopping channel. The store will make an announcement when the date and time of the program featuring its product is released by the network, he said.

The store’s hours of operation are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday; 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday; closed Sunday.

For more information, call 242-2835.

Information from: www.lewistownsentinel.com