The unique craftsmanship of Greg Harkins can be found throughout the country, and his handmade rocking chairs have been given to numerous presidents, governors and celebrities. Not bad for “the chair man” out of Vaughan.
“There is so much more that I can put into a piece of furniture that can’t be put into it at a factory,” Harkins said, inside his workshop in the rural countryside.
Using techniques from the mid-1800s, Harkins has constructed his unique rocking chairs for close to three decades. And he is involved in every step of the process to create his work that has been sent to the White House and many houses in his hometown. From neighbors to United States presidents, his work speaks for itself.
Harkins first created his chairs inside a building he acquired for about $25. He now has a shop near Vaughan, where he continues to work.
“What you see is what you get,” he said, looking around his current shop.
Harkins spent most of his childhood in Jackson and spent a lot of time with his grandmother in the community of Thomas Town.
“There are so many good stories about the time at my grandmother’s house, including the time I killed a quail,” he said. “You would have thought I killed an elk and saved the family. My grandmother was so excited. She cooked the quail and let me eat it for dinner. You never left Nanny’s house empty handed.”
Harkins graduated from Mississippi State University with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. He is also a Fellow Member and sat on the Board of Directors for the Craftmen’s Guild of Mississippi. He is also a member of the American Craft Council and the Louisiana Craft Council.
With his rocking chairs, Harkins cuts his trees, mills the lumber, turns all parts by hand, assembles chairs and other furniture, finishes, and sells his creations. He uses shrink fitted technique passed down through centuries that result in extremely durable furniture of a very high quality.
His journey began as an apprentice under Master Chairmaker Tom Bell, who made a living building chairs for 67 years.
“Mr. Bell took me to about eight different people that he considered to be master carpenters,” Harkins said. “Mr. Bell did not take second best, and that made a big impact on how I do my work today. I had great teachers, but none of them held a hand to Mr. Bell.”
Harkins’ work has been given to six presidents, three vice presidents and 21 governors. He even recently read an article on former President Ronald Reagan, and he saw his rocking chair in the photograph accompanied in the article.
“It was a like a fairy tale every time I made a chair for a president,” Harkins said. “I told myself it would never happen again, but I have done it six times.”
Outside of politicians, celebrities have also been his customers, including Oprah Winfrey and Morgan Freeman.
But it the act of giving his work to locals, friends and neighbors is what really touches Harkins’ heart.
“I am humbled to see how my chairs started getting to the more famous figures in our world,” he said. “But the people that I truly admire are my old customers who gave me the ability to do this.”
Each piece is made, dated, and signed by Harkins and guaranteed for life. He handpicks trees for lumber to make his chair parts. A chair takes approximately 25 hours to make. The backs and bottoms of the chairs are woven by hand.
Harkins has appeared in over 50 magazines, and his work has circulated throughout the country.
“My interest started because I thought the chairs were fascinating,” Harkins said. “And I have loved that as long as I have my work done, I still find time to hunt and fish.”
Although the journey has been rewarding for Harkins, he said he would love to find an apprentice to pass down the skills to through instruction.
“I am hoping to find a good apprentice who I can eventually hand the business over to,” he said. “But I am looking for someone who will be passionate about the business.”
Harkins said he is literally preserving a lost craft, and he intends to keep the craft alive.
“When the true old world started to disappear, I wanted to keep the rocking chairs going,” he said. “Chair making is like a religion to me. And I am blessed to be rich in spirit.”
