Childhood Friends Begin Three Beards Builders

Three Beards Builders’ Set Up at The Depot in Oxford

Everyone has talked about starting a business with their friends, but not many people can say they followed through on it. Andrew Mixon and Joseph Pittman can. Six months ago, they started Three Beards Builders along with another man with facial hair, Ben Shackleford.

The trio grew up together after meeting at Lafayette Elementary and began their lasting friendship. As the years went by, the three went to different universities and pursued different careers. Pittman graduated with an accounting degree from Delta State and worked as an auditor before realizing that was not what he wanted to do. Both Pittman and Shackleford attended Ole Miss and worked to find a true passion but kept coming back to the idea of starting their own business. While living in Colorado, Pittman and Mixon decided to move back to Oxford and get the business started. Six months later Three Beards Builders was up and running.

“When your working for somebody else your dealing with other people’s money, but when your working for yourself it’s all you. It’s your money and everything matters more. You pay attention to every task and every detail a lot more because the whole ship is yours,” Pittman said. “And it’s one thing to have a cool boss, but there’s nothing like working with your buddies in a barn doing what we do.”

Focused on reusing old wood and other recycled materials, the builders create custom designed furniture and works of art in the Oxford community. The materials used can be anything, including old barn wood, which makes for an interesting story behind on of their latest pieces.

“One of the barns that we got the wood from was built over 40 years ago, and I know for a fact that the guy who built it actually milled the wood here in Oxford and built the barn with it,” Mixon said. “So, it’s been here in Lafayette weathering for so long, and we went and took it down. And now, we’re building something new out of it and selling it to the same community, which is amazing when you really think about it.”

Three Beards Builders is focused on creating unique pieces of art and furniture rather than cookie cutter shelves or cabinets. Creating bars, tv stands, decor and much more out of rustic wood, the builders are looking to connect with customers and create something you can’t find anywhere else. Now working with more and more materials every day, the builders have been able to expand their inventory in addition to their custom inquiries. After the popularity of a 3-D B.B. King painting, they have now begun a series of paintings featuring famous musicians such as Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash, and customers have begun asking for their favorite artists to be made into a painting. Working on inspiration rather than a drawn out plan, the builders use what they have at any given moment to create their inventory.

“We want people to know that we do custom work, but we don’t want to build cabinets. We want to do things that have their own style, and design that no one else can provide,” Pittman said. “The way we like to put it is we make custom items that are in line with what we have, but if you want us to build a desk or something like that, we’ll do our best to put our own spin on it.”

Three Beards Builders currently sells their work at The Depot near Big Bad Breakfast, and at the Maker’s Market on the Oxford Square. With Oxford continuing to expand, the builders are looking forward to showing the community the work that they’ve done and will be able to do for them.

“The way we work together is a great balance of what we all do well,” Mixon said. “We are local guys using local materials, and we have so many ideas that we can’t wait for people to be able to check out.”

For more information about Three Beards Builders or to inquire about a design, click here.

Check out examples of Three Beards Builders work below:

Steven Gagliano is a writer for HottyToddy.com. He can be reached at steven.gagliano@hottytoddy.com. 

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