The Northwest Illinois Forestry Association (NIFA) will tour Duane Mitch’s furniture restoration workshop in Schapville on Saturday, August 8th, at 1:00 pm. Participants can also visit the adjacent Bushel and a Peck Country Store & Antiques, operated by Duane’s wife Donna.
Duane Mitch has been building and restoring furniture for over 40 years, and will open his workshop and discuss custom furniture restorations, his on-site service touch-ups, and complete strip and re-finishing of all wooden objects.
Duane grew up in rural Indiana, served in the US Army, and graduated from Eastern Illinois University. His career began in the 1970's in Bedford, New York, as Curator of Prints, for Tyler Graphics, a fine art print studio. Back in the midwest in 1984, he was employed with Business Interiors in Des Plaines, Illinois, as a cabinetmaker and shop finisher. Then, he combined his woodworking skills with Donna's design background and formed Mercury Art and Furniture Service in Wheaton, Illinois. Later in the 1990's, he joined Toms Price Furniture as a furniture technician, and discovered his skill and passion for repair and restoration. Now, Duane and Donna have taken a life time of experiences, relationships, and skills and put it all under one roof in the unlikely place of Jo Daviess County.
On this tour, Duane Mitch will describe the tools that he uses, some joinery and adhesive techniques, repair and fabrication methods, his finishing room, touch-ups, and his processes for custom-finish match projects.
The Bushel and a Peck Country Store & Antiques offers fresh eggs, food and drink, a variety of unique items for the home, and a selection of antique furniture, some of which have been restored by Duane. The Country Store is in the building originally used by pioneer Anton Schap as his blacksmith shop in the 1800s.
Directions: From Route 20, drive north on Elizabeth-Scales Mound Road about nine miles and take Schapville Road about nine miles east into Schapville. Look for the “Fresh Eggs” sign on the south side in the middle of town. The address is 1009 East Schapville Road. To contact Duane Mitch for more information, call (815) 845-2620.
Parking: please follow the signs on the driveway to a field near the workshop.
Do NOT park on the road or in front of the store. This tour is free and open to the public.
Registration: If you have a chance, please register so that we know approximately how many will be attending.
NIFA is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating both private woodland owners and the general public about the environmental and financial benefits of sustainable forest management.
