(Reprinted with permission from the August 2006 edition of Victorian Homes Magazine)

In many ways, Eric Hollenbeck, founder and owner of the Blue Ox Millworks in Eureka, California, is not a typical businessman.  He prefers wearing overalls to a suit and tie; favors country living to city dwelling, and seems trusting of people almost to a fault.  Then again, Blue Ox Millworks is not a typical business.

A humble man with a kind face and gentle demeanor, yet equally strong and determined, Eric does however share a trait common among other successful business owners: He's a visionary.  And with his knowledge of millwork and extraordinary talent for woodworking that borders on genius, few might guess that for a period of time he struggled just to make ends meet.

It was the early 1970s when 25-year-old Eric, an experienced logging-road surveyor, went into business to form Blue Ox Logging and Lumber Company.  A $300 bank loan helped finance equipment, and Eric and his associates eventually purchased an abandoned building--the home of Blue Ox today.  Business began to grow but the company's success was cut short when a series of economic hardships devastated the logging industry, resulting in the closure of mills throughout the nation.  Eric's partners pulled out of the business, forcing Eric and his new wife Viviana to forge ahead on their own.  The couple turned their attention toward manufacturing pre-fabricated buildings, but their efforts were no match for a sluggish economy and the Hollenbecks hit on hard times again.

Despite what appeared to be a bleak road ahead, Eric remained steadfast and his vision for the future of the business came into clearer focus.  "For better or worse I have always judged myself and my worth by what I do, what I make," Eric says.  "I remember a particularly hard time about six years into the business.  We had lost our crew because of lack of work, and I would go down to that cavernous barn by myself and sweep the floors.  It was during this time that the idea came to me that people would tour this place someday, and I started building Victorian facades inside the shop."  This early project planted the seeds of Eric's dream to have a Victorian craftsman's "village" inside the mill.  The facades divided the shop into sections, each devoted to a specific trade.

Eric also began acquiring antique machinery by scavenging through abandoned mills in and around Eureka--something he initially resorted to out of desperation.  "I used to feel shameful.  Everyone else's shop was up to date.  Mine had old rusty junk that no one else wanted.  I would sit and drool over catalogues of new equipment."

But a close friend shared some wisdom that would change Eric's perspective.  "She told me, 'The American craftsman is not helped by technology but, if anything, hindered by it.'  She was saying that as craftsmen we are losing the ability to problem solve.  We fall into a rut that if the machines can't make it, then it can't be made.  Now her words have become my mantra--bring it on!"  And bring it on they did.

The tides began to change when a contractor approached Eric to supply materials for the restoration of a Victorian Inn in Eureka.  Between the antique machinery, Eric's vision for a Victorian village, and the work on the inn, a niche was born.  Soon, Blue Ox developed a reputation for creating quality custom Victorian millwork.  Jobs started coming in from all over the country and even from places as remote as Japan.

There doesn't seem to be a job that Eric can't do, and the word "no" doesn't pass his lips lightly--if at all.  "I don't care if we have to make jigs.  I don't care if we have to use one one of our 50-plus hand planes.  I don't care if we have to grind new knives or make new hand planes.  That's the challenge, but that's what makes Blue Ox what it is.

Today Eric is proud to produce millwork using the antique machines he once bemoaned.  "We are using machines built just after the civil war.  Sometimes it occurs to me that I am making the same moves with the same dreams and aspirations that my grandfather's father would have made.  That gives life a continuum."  Blue Ox's inventory also includes a collection of Barnes Brothers human powered machines c. 1870-1900, some of which are extremely rare.  So rare, in fact, the Smithsonian Institution expressed interest in purchasing the collection; however the original owner turned down the Smithsonian and sold the equipment to Blue Ox, knowing the mill would put the tools to better use.

As business grew, it became important for Eric and Viviana to give back to their community.  Recalling his days as an academically challenged student with poor reading and writing skills, Eric created a youth program where students can learn woodworking, blacksmithing and more.  Blue Ox has even branched out into radio--another of Eric's ideas that's come to fruition.  Students will learn journalism and programming skills at the mill's very own low power FCC-licensed community radio station.  "You do not have to know how to spell or read at a certain level to be a functioning and productive human being.  What you do have to do is find what you're passionate about and good at, and then become the best at it that you can," says Eric with conviction.

And whose advice better to follow than his.

Not relegated to museum relics, Blue Ox uses its vast collection of antique machines to create quality millwork. Here is a gable on progress on a Barnes Velocipede Scroll Saw No. 2.  Built in 1889, the saw contains a flat perforated belt and an optional boring attachment

This home on Portero Hill in San Francisco originally had flat siding and little else.  Eric designed the scrollwork, dentil mouldings and the balcony balustrade.

This Barnes former, known today as a shaper, was made between 1880 and 1886 and is the grandfather of the modern router.  Blue Ox makes all of its own bits and can match any pattern.  The former works particularly well with decorative hardwoods.

The 400 hand-turned balusters of this widow's walk, as well as the moldings, handrails and newel boxes were pre-fabricated and pre-assembled at Blue Ox, then shipped to the Noyes Mansion in Napa, California.

This Barnes circular rip saw, c. 1890, is self-feeding and powered by a hand crank.  It is designed to cut through 600 feet of 1-inch-thick pine in an hour, though the feed can be slowed for hardwoods like ash or maple.  It's original cost would have been about $40.