When visitors tour The Workshops of David T. Smith in rural Warren County, cyberspace seems a long way off.

David T. Smith examines the fit of a drawer in a handmade end table. (Michael Snyder photos) | ZOOM |

        The design center, which specializes in reproduction 18th and early 19th century furniture and home accessories, is a series of studios and display areas in a farmlike setting. All products are made by hand.

        But behind the wood, earthenware and wrought iron is an enterprise that is using computer technology to plan, execute and promote the designs that have made David T. Smith nationally recognized.

        The company has photos of 100 of its custom-built kitchens it can scan and e-mail to potential customers. An online catalog and virtual showroom are available on one of David T. Smith's Web sites. And his staff keep in touch with about 1,000 customers nationwide through broadcast e-mail.

ON THE WEB

• www.davidtsmith.com • For kitchen information: www.workshopsdts.com/kitchen2 • For museum information: www.workshopsdts.com/spnea

        The San Francisco kitchen project presented special challenges. Because of earthquake damage, the kitchen floor was not level. Mr. Smith and his team designed the cabinets with adjustable levelers: if more shifting occurs, the customer can compensate with the levelers.

        In a rustic office at The Workshops, a staff member uses computer software to design and place cabinetry and appliances in a virtual kitchen.

        “We can actually design right in people's homes,” Mr. Smith said. “Our design team jumps on a plane with our laptops and color samples. Recently, we've completed jobs in San Francisco, Long Island, Manhattan and New Jersey.”

A self-taught artisan
        Technology helps the craftsmen and designers work more efficiently, but technology is only a tool for them. The other tools in The Workshops of David T. Smith are those that produce high-quality handcrafted materials.

        Mr. Smith, like many of his associates at The Workshops, is self-taught. His career had a strictly practical beginning.

        “I got married when I was 17 and needed furniture,” he said.

The design center is in a farmlike setting in Warren County, and has a blacksmith shop for turning out iron pieces. | ZOOM |

        At age 21 in 1971, he homesteaded on some family farmland near Morrow, building a house and then gradually furnishing it. He and his wife, Lora, began to acquire antiques — often in need of repair. Through study and experimentation, Mr. Smith learned traditional woodworking and finishing techniques necessary to restore their treasures.

        One of his finds was an antique table he bought at auction for $11. Soon after he repaired it and cleaned up the finish, a dealer offered him $350 (he refused). Mr. Smith began repairing and restoring other people's furniture. Then, with the loan of a table saw and some other tools from his father, Mr. Smith started crafting his own furniture.

A multimillion-dollar business
        In 30 years, Mr. Smith has created a company that will probably hit $5 million in sales this year. Custom kitchens represent about 30 percent of The Workshops' projects, and that percentage continues to increase.

AMERICAN CRAFTS

Furniture styles crafted by The Workshops of David T. Smith include Shaker, Chippendale, Queen Anne and others popular in this country during the 18th and 19th centuries. Prices depend on the type of wood used and range from several hundred dollars for a small piece of furniture to several thousand for a large piece.     This weekend, the center is holding its annual Festival of American Crafts. More than 30 artisans from all over the United States will demonstrate and sell their fiber, wood, metal and other crafts. At 3 p.m. today, Turtlecreek Pottery will unload its wood-fired kiln. There also is a tent sale of furniture and other items from The Workshops. Admission is free but parking is $5.     Festival hours today are noon-5 p.m. The Workshops of David T. Smith is at 3600 Shawhan Road, Morrow; (513) 932-2472.

        Recently, Mr. Smith opened a store in Naples, Fla., that sells a lot of West Indies-style furniture made at The Workshops. His company employs 55 people, including his wife and three grown children.

        “We're almost more of a national entity than local,” Mr. Smith said. “We do a lot of custom work for Ralph Lauren. A lot of our kitchens are shot by national magazines.”

        The September 2001 issue of Country Living magazine features a kitchen that Mr. Smith and staff designed and built for a customer in Montana. The publication's November and December issues also will contain articles on his work.

        “We've just been licensed by a museum in Boston to do reproduction pottery pieces for them,” he said.

        Turtlecreek Pottery was added in 1984 to The Workshops and produces decorative ware that echoes traditions from New England to the South.

Small jobs OK, too
        Mr. Smith acknowledges that he can be obsessive about his work. He maintains an energetic pace, usually working seven days a week, and continues to research early American decorative styles. He's written a book on American country furniture that was published by Rodale Press. He travels internationally to trace decorative traditions from the Old World to the new, but he isn't a purist.

        Said Mr. Smith: “Sometimes, you can be so educated that you lose some of the newness and rawness.”

        Although the company now has a national profile, trades on the Internet and handles increasingly large projects, Mr. Smith still enjoys tackling small jobs for folks in the area.

        “A lady came to me with three cherry wood boards from her family farm in Hamilton,” he said. “They were salvaged when the barn, where the wood was stored, burned. She wanted every scrap of the wood used to make things for her three daughters.

        “We can deal with a 50-room hotel or deal with somebody like that.”
       

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