COLE & CO

After the military, Cole participated in the professional rodeo circuit as a bull rider and worked jobs building houses. He liked riding bulls. He liked building things. However, after being seriously injured in several bull riding accidents, the physically taxing job of building houses was taking a toll on his wounded body. He transitioned into a job with a builder in Manchester who was working on the restoration of the Curtis House in Saline. Suddenly Cole had the opportunity to explore avenues of woodworking as a true craft — tasks that went beyond the hammering of things together. “When I started working on the Curtis House, I discovered how much I liked hand carving and how woodcraft could be more like sculpting and art instead of just assembling,” he said. He explained how the top of the Curtis

house tower is topped with angel wings. Cole spent two weeks carving each wing, and he loved it. He found he was really good at it. Slowly, Cole’s life experiences started to merge into a new path. The circumstances of his life — the early whittling, the military training that gave him skills to run a successful and organized business, the bull riding injuries, the Curtis House — they had corralled him to a place where he knew what he wanted. He converted an outbuilding on his property into a workshop and started Cole and Company, LLC. Cole and Company, LLC has been in business for five years, and in that time has transitioned into a successful woodcraft business. Cole does commercial work for flooring companies, architects, stylists, designers, and individuals. His talent is endless the projects where you get to know the people, and you get comfortable and just have a great working relationship.” When Cole first started his business, he did a lot of work in the Northville and Ann Arbor areas, but he has slowly transitioned to a point where the majority of his clients are now local. “I try not to be greedy,” he said. “I make my hourly rate affordable for people in my local community. That way they get a quality product, and I get to work locally. I can stay in my community, work with people around here, and I’m home to get to my kid off the bus. I’m so fortunate to be able to work this way.” For Cole, the greater Tecumseh area is a unique and wonderful place to work. “This community is just a place of people working together,” he said. “They aren’t trying to drag each other down. There is plenty of work, so the attitude is one of, ‘Let’s all work together and share.’ When we do that, more people are happy,” he said. The value and appreciation he places on this community is also reflected in his work. This past summer, Cole built bookshelves for Tecumseh Public Schools when supply issues prevented them from purchasing shelves. In 2018, Cole assisted local Boy Scout Shawn Peacock in rehabilitating the wooden statue of Chief Tecumseh that stands outside of the Tecumseh Public Middle School. “Sometimes people my age are worried about keeping things just like they are, but I’m all about handing off to the next generation. I just figure I’m gonna pass on as much knowledge as I can and then let the next generation run off with it,” he says with a laugh. Then he adds, “We love it here. We love this community. We are happy.” n

and allows him to create islands, tables, cabinets, doors, floors, and trim. He also specializes in historic restoration. “We are able to copy cabinets for people if they need a few replaced,” he said. “Whether that’s a cabinet from the 1950’s or the 1990’s we can match it for you.” Cole also specializes in color matching. “So say you put on an addition,” he said. “But all your trim is stained from the 1980’s. It’s in great shape, but how are you going to match that UVA-aged wood? Or if you live in a Victorian or historic home, where are you going to get casing that matches? I’ll remake the exact same trim for people and then color match it. I don’t mean match-ish,” he laughs. “I mean we match it. I want it to be perfect. And for the customer, it’s cheaper to have us match it, rather than for them to have

to redo the trim in their entire house.” Not only did Cole discover that he loved woodcraft, he found that he also loves the balance of solitude and community that this job provides. “I love how I can work alone in the shop, just humming and doing my thing,” he said. “But then I get to go out and see my clients. What I love about what I do is that everyone is just so happy. People are so excited about kitchen tables and mantels and Victorian casing. It’s so fun to have a job that makes people happy.” Cole’s high energy, positive demeanor, and high quality woodcraft has resulted in lasting relationships with many of his clients. “I have a lot of clients who just come back again and again, and I get to do something fun for them about once a year,” he said. “I love

A by-product of woodcraft is wood scraps. Cole continuously finds himself with an abundance of hardwood finished scraps that he is unable to use. “These scraps would be great for hobby or crafts people. It would be great for church or school groups who want to do projects,” he said. Cole is currently searching for an avenue to give the scraps away. “The cost is free,” he said. “If you have a use for the scraps, give me call.”