Woodworking meets Broadway in small town Iowa
JEFFERSON, Iowa — One small business in Greene County is reviving a forgotten Iowa trade while also making history on stage.
RVP 1875 is the world's leading furniture shop, according to the owner, Robby Pedersen. The shop is located across the street from Jefferson's iconic bell tower.
For 32 years, Pedersen has made furniture that was popular in Iowa in 1875, while only using tools that existed that same year. For 10 years, he was at Living History Farms in Urbandale, but for the last 22 years, he has been the Master Furniture Maker at RVP 1875.
His collection of 700 hand planes, the largest working set in the world, and 30 saws are the tools he's used to make 1,500 pieces of furniture in his shop.
He chose the year 1875 because that was the year with the most furniture makers in the state. Many pioneers were settling down in small cabins that year. As a result, they needed items like a chimney cabinet and a folding table, because they both saved space.
More: Live on Location in Jefferson
However, there were also second-generation Iowans who now had larger farms and wanted more and larger furniture.
Pedersen says modern furniture rarely gets passed down to a second generation because the use of glue, nails, and fake wood makes the furniture unable to last many years.
At RVP 1875, Pedersen teaches apprentices a forgotten skill known as triple joining, which is how furniture used to be made before nails and glue were popularized.
By using and teaching this system, he said his goal is to preserve the trade. In the 20th century, factories industrialized the profession, and as a result, many skills like triple joining were lost.
'They spent 800 years learning how to really do it well, and then they replaced a master, a journeyman, and an apprentices with an unskilled laborer and a machine. So you can imagine how dumbed down every woodworking concept just instantly became,' said Pedersen.
His four to six-month wait period keeps him busy during the day, but at night, he makes other forms of art.
For 17 seasons, RVP 1875 has been home to the History Boy Theater Company, a 140-seat theater with a two-story stage in the back of the shop.
The theater has showcased 30 full-scale musicals. Pedersen said that for six out of their last 10 shows, they were the Midwest premiere, and they were the national premiere twice.
120 years of scripts, scoops, and soda at the pharmacy in Colfax
Their musicals are unique in the fact that Pedersen builds his own sets.
'He has a talent for making it seem real and making you feel there, so it's very immersive,' said his wife and one of his apprentices, Sara Pedersen.
This summer, the History Boy Theater Company will showcase Rocky the Musical, and it will be the final show at the theater.
'We kind of hoped that the next generation will pick it up, but that's such a challenge in such a small town. You have to have the exact right people,' said Pedersen.
As the last set is built and custom orders are filled, Pedersen isn't just making furniture but passing down history.
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