Doing good with wood

Third-generation wood worker building upon success

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David Wells may feel like his DNA has wood in it due to the many times he has received splinters, cuts or other woodworking injuries and it may come with the fact he is a third generation woodworker.

After World War II, his grandfather, Henry Wells, returned to the small town of Noxapater, Mississippi and began building wooden school bus bodies, which were common at the time. In the mid 1950’s, Henry Wells began a church furniture business, Wells Church Furniture, that still flourishes today in the small town.

“I have developed my craft from years of working with my family and these pieces of furniture are an evolution of that learning,” said David Wells.

Henry Wells’s son, Larry Wells, started running Wells Church Furniture in the 1970’s and brought his sons on board to create church pews and other church furniture. David enjoyed building the church pews and decided to start building smaller pews for homes and other businesses. He started an Etsy shop in 2018, and with sales quickly picking up, he and his wife, Penny Wells, opened a custom furniture and gift shop in Noxapater, Mississippi, a town of 450, in November of 2021.

Having an entrepreneurial spirit like his grandfather, as well as a trained and natural talent for woodworking, the business has flourished with Wells planning key upcoming additions.

The tables, pews, kitchen islands, and other furniture at Pennys In Wells are creations of an unbroken line of craftmanship of over 80 years. David Wells creates these wood made furniture art pieces in a refurbished downtown Noxapater building. Often, he has created these furniture pieces from reclaimed wood, some that have a special meaning to the client.

Recently, he created a trestle table and bench for Drew and Laura Massey. It was built from reclaimed heart pine from the old Massey barn located in Noxapater. Not only did the couple receive a new table and bench, they gained a treasure trove of connections to the family memories in the beautiful table.

“The projects using the reclaimed wood are not only about this piece of furniture you are creating but also about what memory or connection that is being saved,” said David Wells.

Wells understands that his hand-made furniture quality, strength and durability are built into the items, which is in direct contrast with the quickly built, cheap and quickly breaking furniture that can be found in most retail stores.

“I try to build furniture that will live with a family in their home and become part of the home,” said Wells.

Wells tries to keep two or three of his pieces in the main showroom of the store but when all the pieces are hand-made, and you have a brisk business then keeping examples of the works can prove difficult.

The time Wells puts into his pieces he does not really measure since he is getting a paycheck, a relationship with the person who purchases the piece and knowing a job is well done.

And there is a good chance for a fourth generation of wood workers with his three sons all having helped with pieces over the years.

If the next generation fails to pickup the Bench Plane or wood chisel, hopefully someone will since it is more of an art and skill than a job.

Pennys In Wells is located at 11 West Main Street, Noxapater, MS 39346 and David and Penny Wells may be reached at 1-662-724-4607 or [email protected]. Find them on facebook, instagram, etsy and tiktok.