The ultimate custom made
     Rocking Chairs.

Some men pursue woodworking. Others have it thrust upon them. Then there are the Harold Dodsons of the world. Harold is a man who can take about 40-odd foot of lumber — usually walnut but occasionally cherry, white oak, chestnut or curly maple — and, within a couple of weeks or so, craft it into a gleaming showpiece that cradles the body, supports the lumbar and is sturdy enough to be passed down to your grandchildren’s grandchildren.

A woodworker since 1976 — though he modestly concedes those early efforts were mostly ‘junk’ — Dodson first became enamored of the idea of building hand- crafted rockers when he saw a Sam Maloof design in a magazine in 1981. He discovered they had a mutual understanding; the beauty of wood lies in its heart and may be found through patient labor and careful appreciation of its characteristics.

In 1987, Harold Dodson built his first rocker and gladly sold it for $350 because, “I needed the money at the time." Since then, from a small backyard workshop, he has produced more than 230 others, each signed, dated by year, numbered and sold — except for five: one for each of his two daughters, his wife’s, his own and number 100, which he keeps as a business milestone.