ON THIS LABOR DAY, a day to rest from our labors, consider the craftsman I met on Thursday in Pine Island, Minnesota. He is Jeff Lerum. And he loves his job. Can you say that about your life’s work?
For 25 years, Jeff has operated Green’s Antiques and Green’s Stripping and Refinishing. He calls his businesses a “glorified hobby.” That word choice shows passion. As I spoke with Jeff and meandered through his shop, I understood.
Furniture, finished and unfinished, fills this place. But it’s not just furniture to Jeff. Some are customers’ family heirlooms. Others are treasures he’s rescued from auctions and elsewhere and restored. He especially likes early 1800s handmade furniture. Cupboards are his specialty. He values good solid wood; you won’t find shabby chic style furniture in his shop. Stripping finishes from wood is the main part of his business.
He’s a guy who works seven days a week. If he’s not in his shop, he’s making the evening and weekend auction rounds. “I was a picker before there were pickers,” Jeff says.
He once hit the jackpot with his picking. Inside a cupboard purchased at an estate auction, he found a hidden safe. And $1,700 inside. Jeff checked with the auctioneer on ownership and was told the money was his to keep. As the father of four, I imagine the unexpected windfall was welcome.
Family photos, a child’s artwork, handmade cards and more plaster his shop door and a section of wall. That tells me a lot about Jeff and the importance of family to him. His business is a family business of 40 years.
This Baby Boomer appears much younger than his 51 years. And I wonder if that comes from doing what he loves or being his own boss or both. Whatever the reasons, it was a joy to meet someone as genuinely enthusiastic about his labor as Jeff.
His passion shows. In the front showroom space, where furniture is displayed like artwork in a gallery. In the hefty harvest table Jeff crafted from repurposed posts and lumber. In the way Jeff wraps sandpaper around the leg of a chair and sands the wood.
His hands, his face, his personality all convey that contentment that comes from making one’s passion one’s life work.
BONUS PHOTOS:

There are other antiques and collectibles in the shop besides furniture. I absolutely adore this floral print.

This cubby unit was among many many pieces of furniture crammed into a space between the showroom and the workshop.
© Copyright 2015 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
True artistry!!!! That ‘cubby’ would work perfectly for (some/part) of my quilt stash…….IF I had a home large enough to accommodate such a piece!!!!! LOL!!! Great post, as always……………..
Perhaps DH could build a workshop for YOU! Then you could purchase that cubby.
Excellent!
Audrey, you are really tempting me to hop in the truck and make a trip up north! Forget the car… I have a feeling I’ll need the crew cab and truck bed to haul items south that need a new home!! Ha ha!!
You are always welcome to come north. I loved so many pieces in Jeff’s shop.
Wow, great wood work, and great biceps! ; ) Do what you love, Jeff, and life will never feel like “nothing but work”.
Good observations and a great comment.
Amazing.
I LOVE love LOVE how you bring your readers into the lives and joys and simple beauty of others.
I appreciate VERY much. xxxx
Thank you, sweet Kim.
Ooh he does amazing work. Hubby better hide the creator cards because I saw some amazing yarn storage options in your pictures.
Yes, Jeff is an incredible craftsman. I’m sure you would find something in his shop that would work for your yarn.
What a ingenious idea posting a post on a laborer hard at work. In addition you certainly did a fine job showcasing his work with emphasis on his work ethic.
It simply came to me that Labor Day would be the ideal time to publish this post about a man who loves his “work.”