by Cindy A. Abole, Public Relations

Jeff Bassett works on a picture frame made from old barnwood. It's one of the many pieces he enjoys making.

For emergency room nurse Jeff Bassett, treating and mending sick people require special talents and skills.

Bassett is also skillful in mending and building furniture, thus turning a long-time interest into a part-time hobby.

Originally from East Longmeadow, Mass., a short two hours west of Boston, Bassett moved to Charleston in 1991. Unlike others who have attempted to preserve family wood working skills by teaching others, Bassett learned to construct furniture on his own.

“Ever since I bought my first home, I had plans of working with wood,” said Bassett who works out of his makeshift workshop and garage equipped with a skill saw, router and biscuit joiner.

His earliest projects were shoe racks and shelves. He progressed to picture frames, coffee tables and later free-standing cabinets made from antique barn wood.

It’s Bassett’s skillful eye which is responsible for designing and creating his unusual styled pieces. He remembers his first furniture piece as an Adirondack style chair designed by studying a picture from memory.

“I love to take weathered barnwood, knotty pine and beechwood and create something unusual,” Bassett said.

Perhaps Bassett’s greatest satisfaction as he crafts his works is the pride and ownership in designing and constructing each piece. “I like the thought of showing a piece off and being able to say that I made it.”

“Like any good hobby, furniture making is my own therapy,” Bassett said, as he balances the stresses of work and life. “This will always be a fulfilling hobby for me.”