Unfinished Business

Former Teacher Bruce Boyle Now Sells Furniture to the Do-It-Yourself Crowd
By Roger McCord

For 10 years, until last year, Bruce Boyle was a history teacher at James Wood High School. But his exodus from education began when he and his wife, Lee Anne, had their first child, Stephen, six years ago and made a decision not to use day care.

So Lee Anne opted to quit her full-time job as a teacher at Indian Hollow Elementary School.

The loss of a second income put a big financial strain on the Boyle household, forcing Bruce to work odd jobs and in the summer to supplement his teacher's salary.

"I delivered pizzas, was an electrician's helper, mowed grass, and did some building," he recalled. "In fact, in 1992, I counted up that I only had seven days off, including Christmas out of the whole 365 in the year."

Then the Boyles had a second son -- Evan, now 4, and Lee Anne began working part-time.

Before long, the frantic schedule became too much.

"One of us was always coming or going," Boyle said. Worse, it appeared the family income would never allow them to save up a college fund for the two boys.

So Bruce Boyle decided to start a business.

"I figured if I was going to work that many hours, I might as well do it in one place," He said.

First, of course, there was the matter of picking a business. The first venture considered was a convenience store.

"We almost bought one, but decided it would have to be open for too many hours," Boyle said.

They they considered -- and luckily rejected -- opening a toy store.

"This was about eight months before Toys 'R' Us announced they were coming to Winchester," Boyle said. "A friend of mine (said our toy store) would have died a slow death, but a sure death."

The keeper, finally, was idea No. 3: a store selling "unfinished furniture," where buyers take the bare wood products and do the staining and varnishing at home.

Unfinished furniture was a product the Boyles already liked, having purchased an unfinished bedroom set in 1988. So in August of last year Bruce and Lee Anne Boyle, co-proprietors, opened the "Solid Woods" unfinished furniture store in Winchester's Pleasant Valley Marketplace, next to Kroger.

The biggest reason most people shop for unfinished furniture, Boyle said, is that do-it-yourselfers can get a significant price break.

"You can buy solid wood furniture for the price of particle board (furniture)," Boyle said.

Another big advantage, he said is being able to finish a new piece to match the coloration of existing pieces.

Solid Woods offers a variety of unfinished furniture, including kitchen and dining room tables, kitchen cabinetry, hutches, student desks, entertainment centers, bookcases, rocking chairs, armoires, and bunk beds. The store also has furniture in a number of different woods, including oak, aspen, alder, pine, maple, birch, and cherry.

Solid Woods also carries a selection of finished, solid cherry furniture by well-known furnituremaker Bill Carper of Carper's Wood Creations in Winchester.

"His furniture is high-end, top quality . . . and has done very well in this store," said Boyle.

Though January was not a good month because of the cold, snowy weather, Boyle said Solid Woods is staying abreast of sales projections.

Just getting this far has been a tribute to hard work and expert help, he said.

Boyle got the business off the ground with a Small Business Administration loan, and has depended in large part on the advice of Roger Crosen, coordinator of the Small Business Development Center at Lord Fairfax Community College.

"(Crosen) was extremely instrumental in me getting open," said Boyle. "He asked lots of probing questions, and didn't sugarcoat anything."

Looking back, Boyle said, Crosen's advice "was 100 percent accurate."

Crosen, meanwhile, turned the plaudits back to Boyle.

"I want to help people get a business going, but I have to be realistic. The worst thing in the world is to start a business and see it fail," said Crosen. "But Bruce has done a very good job of doing his homework and setting his goals."

Boyle also attributed his location in the highly-visible Pleasant Valley Marketplace to his wife.

"I was looking at a lower-priced site, but Lee Anne said, 'If you're going to do it, do it right. Get the good location.'"

As for the hard work, Boyle recounts a family joke: "In this business, I'm the receiving clerk, shipping clerk, maintenance man, salesman, accountant, and employee of the month."

Despite all the hard work and long hours, though, Boyle does get the one wish that played apart in starting a business: spending time with his children.

Both Stephen and Evan are in for three hours on Monday and Friday afternoons, and oftentimes more than that. On Monday, Evan, 4, sat behind the counter and happily toyed with a game program on his dad's computer.

"We call them the assistant managers," joked Boyle. But in a serious vein, he said "I enjoy having them with me, instead of at day care."

"Sometimes we read a book, or we'll assemble furniture. It takes five times as long than if I did it myself, but it's worth it to me."