Larry Anderson

When I was in High School I bought my first table saw and began making small jewelry boxes and other small wood items. I bought a larger table saw after I graduated from High School. My wife and I bought an old house in Lake Zurich, Illinois and my tools soon became very handy. We remodeled the house and sold it for a profit after living there for 7 years. We built a brand new house on the next block. Once again, my tools came in handy. I built the garage large enough to hold most of my equipment.

In 1987 we went to the Madison Art Fair in Wisconsin. I saw a woodworker making wooden boxes. At this point, I knew I had the skills to design and build my own wooden boxes. I bought some exotic woods and tried making small boxes. They did not turn out very well, so I burned them in our fireplace. In spite of this, I went ahead and bought walnut and maple and tried again. This time, I was satisfied with the results of my design and creativity. I started doing mostly elliptical shaped bottoms with sculptured tops. 

My first art fair was in Chicago near Water Tower Place. A Scandanavian Airlines pilot stopped and examined one of my boxes and purchased it. I was delighted. Since then, I have made and sold over 3000 boxes. I mainly sell them at art fairs throughout the midwest. I have been published in a book called “The Art of The Band Saw” written by Mark Duginske.

I retired at the age of 58 after sufering in “Corporate America” for over 30 years. I knew at a young age I could not make a living as an artist. However, we had a small house which we paid of in 1994. My wife continued to work until she was 67. We saved our money and we are both retired now. I do about 12 art fairs a year. Since I retired, I make and sell approximately 200 to 250 boxes a year. I will continue to make boxes as long as I can. I have met some of the most wonderful people doing art fairs. I enjoy making and selling my boxes more than anything I have ever done.