A store where all that's wood is good

A wood workers’ toy store opened one mile north of Edison Mall and customers are driving the distance to buy supplies, specialized tools and take classes about wood carving.

Woodcraft, a West Virginia-based franchise, is celebrating its 80th anniversary of offering wood lovers the supplies they need to get their projects done.

“We have everything for the hobbiest wood worker, professional cabinet maker or construction worker,” said Rose Ann Meyers, who owns the store with her husband Scott. “We focus on understanding the customer and making sure they walk out with what they need when they get home.”

Getting the right supplies is easy at Woodcraft which employs 11 people with an interest or expertise in wood working.

“We try hard to educate people and we have a reading area and three televisions that play different wood carving videos,” said Meyers, of North Fort Myers, adding that the store is set up to help customers learn as much as they want about their craft. “When guys come in, it’s like they are in a toy store.”

The 8,000-square-foot store is specifically laid out to make shopping easy. It even includes a mock work station with equipment and supplies every wood carver should have in his shop.

“I love the smell of the wood and the working environment,” said Jerry Hess, an employee that has been with the company since it opened in January. “Working with the customers is great because they are so nice.”

Hess has worked with wood since he was a child and is knowledgeable about how to help a customer no matter the request.

“I am good at helping people once I figure out what it is that they want to make or do,” said Hess.

Woodcraft also offers monthly classes in which customers pay anywhere from $65 to $150 to learn about hardware, equipment or woodturning.

“Everybody leaves with a project at the end of most classes,” said Meyers about the store that recently added a Sawstop to their classes. The saw has a system that stops and retracts the blade (within 5 milliseconds) upon accidental contact with body parts. “We have a lot of information to pass on and we do the classes to give people even more.”