About the Craftsman

Commission a Sandhill Design and be assured that Bill will personally work on every detail, from concept and sketches through production and finishing.

Bill Bale is a fine furniture designer and woodworker who lives and works in South Central Wisconsin. Combining his love of Arts and Crafts style furniture with 20 years woodworking experience, he founded Sandhill Designs in 1995.

His passion for Arts and Crafts furniture began with an old Mission Oak rocker he bought at an antique store in 1976. About that same time, his father-in-law introduced him to woodworking.

Since then, Bill worked in home building for a while, and later spent five years in a small shop creating antique reproduction roll-top desks.

In 1995, concentrating specifically on Arts and Crafts/Mission furniture, Bill spent an entire year of research prior to starting Sandhill Designs. Hoping to specialize in the style, he was happy to see a resurgence in the Arts and Crafts movement.

He began Sandhill Designs using his two-car garage as a workshop and the front two rooms of the house for an office and showroom. Parking the vehicles outdoors during Wisconsin winters and putting a bedroom display in the dining room were acceptable tradeoffs to get to do what he loves most -- woodworking.

By the turn of the Century, five years later, the demand for Sandhill Designs had created a thriving business, with Bill working seven days a week. The shop was obviously too small -- drawers and dresser parts stacked to the ceiling, saw dust collection hoses sprawled across the floor and too much time was spent shuffling equipment around.

The answer came in February, 2000, when Bill moved Sandhill Designs to a 40' x 60' building on three acres 25 miles southeast of Madison, Wisconsin. Now, with a little bit more elbow room Bill is again ready to design and build furniture to last into the next Century. To commission your own Sandhill Designs, call for an appointment today: 920/568-0333.

  sandhill@sandhilldesigns.com

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