Legacy furniture meant to be passed down for generations

Armed with a video tutorial and some chair templates, Steve Henneford 13 years ago took a leap of faith when he entered the furniture making space.

“I just told my wife one day I wanted to make chairs and she said OK. I said, ‘Are you sure? I've never made a chair in my life.’ The first thing I made was a three legged chair. I made it out of poplar, which is a cheap wood, and at the time, I thought it was good,” said Henneford. “I never thought I would fail. People would say, ‘What’s your plan B?’ But I never had one.”

While he and his wife, Jeanine are the former owners of Flathead Gymnastics, woodworking was always something he was passionate about, and in 2010, he made his first chair — Henneford Fine Furniture was born.

His custom, hand-made chairs, tables, rockers, and barstools have been referred to by clients as “legacy furniture,” pieces that are made to last and can be passed down for generations. For this reason, Henneford has a wide range of clientele.

“We have some people who can hardly afford it, but they really appreciate the furniture, and then we have some people who fly on a private jet just to take a look at a prototype and then fly home,” said Henneford. “I’ve sold a chair to the guy who owns the Chicago Cubs and I’ve sold a chair to a lady who was in the movie ‘No Country for Old Men.’”

Henneford’s furniture made in Kalispell has been featured in magazines such as Tahoe Quarterly, Western Art and Architecture, and Big Sky Journal, and he attends shows and auctions as often as possible to showcase his work.

“We were the very first piece of functional art to be sold in the Charlie Russell Auction which is a huge art thing and people come from all over the country,” said Henneford.

Henneford has also had the opportunity to make uncommonly crafted pieces such as a music stand, jewelry stand, and is currently in the process of making a couch for the first time. In the future, Henneford said he would love to try and make an electric bike out of wood.

“I would just make it for myself, but I think that would be really fun,” he said.

Henneford works with all types of wood such as cherry, walnut, mahogany, bubinga, and leopard wood. He tends not to use stain and prefers to let the natural grain and color shine through.

“Bubinga is an African rosewood that’s kind of a reddish color. It’s super hard,” he explained. “And there's a wood that I use that I like to work with called leopard wood which comes out of Mexico. It’s not in danger, but it's just difficult to get.”

Leather straps and seats for barstools and cowboy rockers come from Shooting Star Saddlery, a Montana-based leather maker in Niarada. The leather is then attached to the chairs with a 22 bullet which Henneford punches a hole into and dumps the powder out of.

Because everything is made to order, it can take up to four months to complete a product such as dining chairs, Henneford explained. The furniture can then be delivered or shipped, depending on the client’s location. Henneford has even sent his furniture as far as Ghana.

“People can tell the difference in quality,” he said. “Every piece is handmade and people like the uniqueness of them. They’re not things that everybody has.”

To find out more about Henneford Fine Furniture, visit hennefordfinefurniture.com or call 406-253-3906.

Reporter Summer Zalesky may be reached at szalesky@dailyinterlake.com.