Sign In
Upcoming Event
Free Newsletter
New Maple Street Woodworking sells lumber and ideas
Stacy Wescoe//February 12, 2021//
Listen to this article
Hellertown’s latest business is bringing all things woodworking to the Lehigh Valley.
Phil Kochsmeier, owner of Maple Street Woodworking, said his new shop, which has a showroom of custom pieces and lumber for sale, is an offshoot of his custom woodworking business that aims to give a home to woodworking fans.
“The lumber is an opportunity that is part of my primary custom woodworking business,” he said.
He had been buying lumber wholesale from Pennsylvania mills and then selling the extra on Facebook marketplace.
Having the shop allows him to have a retail space to sell the lumber as well as providing him with space to create and display his own projects.
Kochsmeier, who has a degree in accounting and financing, graduated from college in 2013 and decided he would make his own furniture for his new home to save money.
“I taught myself out of necessity,” he said.
With no formal training, Kochsmeier scoured fallen barns for wood that he could use and started building from scratch.
As he perfected his craft, he started making furniture for others, selling custom pieces from office furniture sets to bathroom cabinets and dining room tables.
His hobby eventually became his full-time job and now his shop is a home for his passion for the craft.
“I want this to be a fun place,” Kochsmeier said. “I think there’s a lot of interest in it.”
Besides actually buying lumber or custom pieces, he said he hopes people with their own custom woodworking businesses can bring customers in to get ideas and ask questions.
“It’s a good outlet for people,” he said.
Of course, hobbyists are welcome too.
“I want to create an atmosphere that’s much different than most,” Kochsmeier said.
Maple Street Woodworking is at 76 W. Water St., Hellertown.
