The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

SECTION The Best way out An old barn may be just an old barn, but to the Bests of Caesarea, it's the begin- ning of a labour of love that will hopefully provide them with not only an income, but also the lifestyle they've always wanted, Jim Best, a former truck driver and assembly line worker, got into the building of hand-made: furniture quite by accident. A friend, who was making the furni- ture as a hobby, got Jim involved. 'Now, four years later, Jim has gambled that he can make a living at it that will supply him with _ the lifestyle he's always .wanted: Away from the city. Wood Rebirths it's called, and the 'workshop' has just been moved from an old abandoned church in the hamlet of Cadmus, located south of Nestleton, to a building beside the Royal Bank in Blackstock. Jim builds coffee tables, dutch hutches, benches, dining "tables, - stereo cabinets, 3 "4 4k oY bo ; ' of v3 i Linda Best shows off a hanging table designed and built by the Bests. chairs, beds, games tables, doors, walls, cupboards, chesterfields, counters, hanging tables, and much more. Although many such shops are opening inthe country with the growing demand for this type of furniture, the Bests hope that one essential difference will set. Wood Rebirths apart from the rest. "We use nothing but old, aged wood. The new' stuff just can't match it for appearance," said Jim, In fact, he says, many of the old handcut planks used for barn construction cannot be obtained in new wood today. "They just don't make them anymore." Another advantage of Wood Rebirths is that it's not only custom made, but also custom designed. A hanging end table, for example, is Jim's own design, and features not only a hanging planter but also a lamp built into the macrame hanger. "He's been doing the work on a hobby basis for most of the. past four years, but when_he quit his job on an Oshawa assembly line recently it was serious stuff. "I guéss it was a gamble," said Jim. "The security... but you have to take a chance." Although he has made sales, it's been just enough to cover costs. The Bests have been living mainly on savings, but all that is expected to change when his work is shown at the Toronto home show this year. "I have quite a few irons in the fire, and much of it hinges on how I do at the Escaping the Rat Race show. A lot of people-- customers and prospective backers, are sitting back waiting to see how I'll do." Jim doesn't expect to make a bundle at building - home-made furniture. "I'm certainly not going to get rich at it." Instead; the job will satisfy a need for creativity plus the means by which tpe Bests can persue their chosen lifestyle--basically rural. "My dream," said the Caesarea resident, 'is to move further out, per- haps buy a farm. Doing this kind of work doesn't really demand that you live in the city--that's one of the things I like about it." Perhaps one of the reasons Jim has taken the chance is because he's had the full support of his wife, Linda. In fact, Linda is gett- ing involved in such things as setting up the home show bookkeeping, and even some of the work on the furniture. The macrame hanger for the hanging end table, for example, was her creation. > + The Bests have a consid- erable investment in the business. There are the tools, worth well over $2,000 not to mention the many other operating and mater- ial costs. Is there a timetable for Success? "Not really," says Linda. "We just kind of take one day at a time, One limited goal like the home show. After that, it will be some- thing else." And if the home show fails to get the desired response? "We'll just struggle a little longer." SOE er <4 - Ts --_ So a rs \- at 5 a Tork he PE PR Sa