We are a small family business located in Orrington, Maine. Orrington is appoximately
12 miles from Bangor and about 50 miles from Bar Harbor.
About The Woodworking Artisan: Robert Bower
find any early american pieces that were done in a plain style--the kind of beds and furniture that you would find in an average person's
home in Maine during colonial times.
I am retired now and my daughter suggested that I make dollhouse
furniture as hobby to sell online. Because I do enjoy making the pieces, I decided to do just that with the help of my wife's sewing
and finishing work.
I have a wood-working shop in my garage. I make all the wooden furniture and accessories
completely from scratch beginning with a 2 x 4 piece of pine. I use power equipment, such as a full-size table saw and scroll saw,
to cut my pieces.
I find inspiration for my pieces from the magazine "Early American Life," and from
the PBS television show "Antique Roadshow." I am drawn to Early American/Colonial pieces simply because they are interesting. The
craftsmen in those times were very talented and creative. I became interested in american history in college (University of Maine,
1959) after taking several history courses.
Before retirement,
I was a career military officer in the U.S. Army. My last rank was that of Major. In the military, I was a helicopter pilot and a
flight instructor. After that, I owned and operated a sub sandwich shop for several years, and lastly before retiring, I worked in
an office at a local trucking company.
I first started making miniatures a few years ago when my daughter asked me to build my granddaughter a dollhouse.
I made a colonial seacaptain's house with a widow's walk from scratch. Then, my daughter wanted me to make all the furniture for it
because she could not
We are very proud of the fact that our miniatures were featured in the March/April 2008
issue of Dollhouse Miniatures Magazine.