Roxie Woodworks Builds Custom Pieces For Oxonians

Located around 10 minutes outside of Oxford on North Lamar Boulevard is a furniture-making workshop surrounded by kudzu vines: Roxie Woodworks.

Approaching its one-year anniversary, Roxie Woodworks’ furniture is featured in Grit restaurant as well as Powerhouse Gallery, Oxford Treehouse Gallery and Southside Gallery.

Roxie Woodworks was founded last December by John Haltom, an eight-generation Mississippian who became the youngest-ever member of the Craftsman’s Guild of Mississippi. He handmade every piece from large dining tables to shelves and coffee tables.

Haltom comes from a family of Ole Miss alumni. His brother, Scott Haltom, was a backup catcher on the Ole Miss baseball team. Haltom’s roots in woodworking can be traced back to his grandfather, affectionately called “Papa,” who operated Haltom Lumber in the tiny Mississippi town of Roxie.

“He’s my only living grandparent right now, and I’ve named my business in honor of him and to (also) remind myself of the fascinating stories he so eloquently tells in a rolling Southern drawl,” Haltom said.

Not only does Haltom draw inspiration from his beloved grandfather but also from the natural world cultures that he was fascinated with since he was a boy growing up in Ridgeland, Mississippi. That fascination tied into his preference to work with his hands which led him to carving bows from osage orange trees.

At 16 years old, he became the youngest admitted member to the Craftman’s Guild of Mississippi. With the Guild, he worked with mentors such as Andy Blake. He grew to love carving bows and even took a whitetail deer with an osage orange bow at 17 years old. Now he is a lifetime member of the Guild.

He followed his lifelong passion for wood and woodworking as an employee of the U.S. Forest Service in Colorado and Montana. He left the job when he felt they were pushing him towards a desk job, a position he said that he prefers to avoid since he loves being outside and working with his hands.

He then moved to Seattle in 2010 where he worked for nearly three years as a carpenter.

Haltom said, “After that time I moved on to furniture-making with Urban Hardwoods, a wonderful business that escalated my love for woodworking.”

There in Seattle, he met and married Katey Haltom who he describes as “the other half of Roxie Woodworks.”

He said, “(Katey) helps in so many ways, but easily the most helpful way is her diligence in keeping my books and taxes up to date. She’ll put on a dust mask and help me sand a slab and she’d readily help with other parts of building but I do all of the steps that involve saws, jointers, planers, etc. I don’t want anyone to get hurt, but especially not Katey.”

Roxie Woodworks is less than a year old, but Haltom is becoming more and more known in Oxford. He has partnered on a few projects with Walter Neill of Oxford Treehouse Gallery, an art gallery that he operates with his wife, Vivian Neill.

Neill said, “Throughout my life I have been friends with or associated with some of the finest woodworker’s in Mississippi. I consider John Haltom at 30 years of age, one of the most capable, talented, creative and hard-working wood
craftsmen I have known. It is an honor to work with him on projects.”

Haltom’s works are featured in Oxford Treehouse Gallery among many other galleries such as the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council’s Powerhouse on University Avenue.

YAC Director, Wayne Andrews, is appreciative of Haltom’s woodworking.

He said, “John’s work brings out the natural elegance of the materials he works with from the wood to the forged iron connectors with styled functional works of art.”

Haltom is dedicated to furniture making. He can be seen at his workshop until midnight some days when he is finishing his pieces with conversion varnish or lacquer, taking great care to keep any dust from settling into the finish before it cures.

His workshop is stacked with around 125 slabs of wood that take years to become ready to become a furniture piece. Haltom is always on the lookout for wood to stock up on as he drives around for abandoned wood on the roadside.

As for furniture-making, he estimates six weeks per commission but he hopes the customers know how much effort truly goes into woodworking.

He said, “Each piece requires different number of hours. Many dining tables and coffee tables require, from tree salvage to finished project, two-plus years and 20 to 40 hours of labor.”

This level of attention to furniture-making is shown in his works which can be seen by visiting RoxieWoodworks.com or on their Facebook Page.

Those who commission furniture from Roxie Woodworks can keep updated on the progress by simply visiting Haltom at his workshop tucked away amid the kudzu on a rocky country road.

Callie Daniels Bryant is a writer for HottyToddy.com. She can be reached at caldanie@gmail.com

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