From his workshop in Culloden, Jerill Vance has been building — along with a variety of furniture and decor items — a statewide viewing audience of late.
Vance is the host of “Appalachian Heritage Woodshop,” a six-part series that airs each Saturday at 1 p.m., through Jan. 5, on West Virginia Public Broadcasting television stations.
A South Charleston native, Vance worked for more than 30 years for the Union Carbide Tech Center before taking retirement in 2009. He decided to launch a second career attuned to his longtime woodworking passion.
A year later, Vance earned an associate’s degree in Fine Woodworking from New River Community College.
“I’ve always had a passion for woodworking. I picked up some knowledge from my grandfather and my father. I’ve always done it as a hobby. In the 1990s, I got serious about it, got a business license and began building and selling furniture.
“I was fortunate in that I got the chance to go back to college at the young age of 55 and get a degree in Woodworking so that I could teach woodworking,” he said. “All of the other woodworkers who have gotten the degree have gone out of state.”
Vance builds custom pieces in his workshop. “I meet with a client, find out what they want and custom design it for them."
“I demonstrate woodworking with hand tools at the Heritage Farm Museum and Village,” Vance said. The museum is located in Huntington.
Vance also began working this year with Drafting students at the Putnam County Career and Technical Center.
“I design a piece and have them draw the blueprints,” he explained. “Then I offer the blueprints for sale. Of course, I compensate the school. The instructor likes it because it gives the students real-world knowledge. He likes it because they reverse engineer. I’ll take a couple of pieces of furniture them and give them my notes. Then they reverse engineer and draw it. After the students draw it, the instructor looks it over and he signs off that it’s correct and I go over and review it again.
“Putnam County’s is one of the few vocational schools that offers that. I’m fortunate,” he said. “My wife is a retired teacher from the Putnam County school system, and she knew some of the personnel, so I knew who to approach.”
His wife, Belinda, is also the director and editor of “Appalachian Heritage Woodshop,” while he serves as the producer. Their son, Ryan Vance, who produces videos for Marshall University, provides technical advice and assistance.
On each episode, “I highlight the Appalachian culture by examining Appalachian furniture from past generations,” Vance explained. “I will focus on a piece of furniture that was designed and built for a specific task. Because society has changed, they no longer need that task, so that piece of furniture is no longer made.
“A good example is what’s called a bucket bench. Before they had indoor plumbing, they would have to haul water in buckets. They would have a designated place to store the water, called a bucket bench. Today’s youth have no knowledge of not just the furniture, but the chores of retrieving water.
“It’s an educational format as well as a woodworking format as well as a historical format.”
Another item Vance addressed on the show was a Bible box.
“A lot of people don’t realize the Bible was very prominent, because they used it to record family history. They would record the births, the deaths and the marriages in it. They would even put things in the Bible like a lock of hair from a deceased person or they would keep a flower from a wedding and press it in the Bible. A lot of the older Appalachian families, the Bible was the only book they would have. A lot of them would have a box just to keep the Bible in,” he said.
Vance starts each project with an antique piece and redesigns and builds it. After videotaping his construction of the project in his workshop, it is taken to an historical site and videotaped being employed the way it was used several generations ago.
Vance said the program appeals to several different demographics in viewership. He said he researched the initial concept for the show and found there was no television programming strictly geared to Appalachian furniture.
“I worked on it for about two years. There were a lot of legalities in setting it up, because it had to be trademarked. The first step was I went to the Small Business Administration and worked for four to six months with them. Then I approached PBS with just the concept. They were enthused about, so it was a matter of actually implementing a plan.
“PBS has been a tremendous help. The programming director, Eddie Isom, gave some advice and helped coach us along the way,” he said.
Following its initial-season wrap-up on Jan. 5, he said, “Appalachian Heritage Woodshop” will be rerun on the West Virginia Channel. Vance said he is gauging feedback to determine if he will produce a second season. Vance will be also soliciting suggestions from the public for second-season topics/projects, starting next month.
“If there’s enough interest, there will be a second season,” he said.
Vance is also a member of Mountaineer Woodturners and was one of the first members of Valley Woodworkers of West Virginia. He said he plans to open a new shop on his 50-acre Culloden farm in 2019.
For additional information about Vance’s work and services, visit www.appalachianheritagewoodshop.com or www.jerillvancewoodworks.com
Vance is the host of “Appalachian Heritage Woodshop,” a six-part series that airs each Saturday at 1 p.m., through Jan. 5, on West Virginia Public Broadcasting television stations.
A South Charleston native, Vance worked for more than 30 years for the Union Carbide Tech Center before taking retirement in 2009. He decided to launch a second career attuned to his longtime woodworking passion.
A year later, Vance earned an associate’s degree in Fine Woodworking from New River Community College.
“I’ve always had a passion for woodworking. I picked up some knowledge from my grandfather and my father. I’ve always done it as a hobby. In the 1990s, I got serious about it, got a business license and began building and selling furniture.
“I was fortunate in that I got the chance to go back to college at the young age of 55 and get a degree in Woodworking so that I could teach woodworking,” he said. “All of the other woodworkers who have gotten the degree have gone out of state.”
Vance builds custom pieces in his workshop. “I meet with a client, find out what they want and custom design it for them."
“I demonstrate woodworking with hand tools at the Heritage Farm Museum and Village,” Vance said. The museum is located in Huntington.
Vance also began working this year with Drafting students at the Putnam County Career and Technical Center.
“I design a piece and have them draw the blueprints,” he explained. “Then I offer the blueprints for sale. Of course, I compensate the school. The instructor likes it because it gives the students real-world knowledge. He likes it because they reverse engineer. I’ll take a couple of pieces of furniture them and give them my notes. Then they reverse engineer and draw it. After the students draw it, the instructor looks it over and he signs off that it’s correct and I go over and review it again.
“Putnam County’s is one of the few vocational schools that offers that. I’m fortunate,” he said. “My wife is a retired teacher from the Putnam County school system, and she knew some of the personnel, so I knew who to approach.”
His wife, Belinda, is also the director and editor of “Appalachian Heritage Woodshop,” while he serves as the producer. Their son, Ryan Vance, who produces videos for Marshall University, provides technical advice and assistance.
On each episode, “I highlight the Appalachian culture by examining Appalachian furniture from past generations,” Vance explained. “I will focus on a piece of furniture that was designed and built for a specific task. Because society has changed, they no longer need that task, so that piece of furniture is no longer made.
“A good example is what’s called a bucket bench. Before they had indoor plumbing, they would have to haul water in buckets. They would have a designated place to store the water, called a bucket bench. Today’s youth have no knowledge of not just the furniture, but the chores of retrieving water.
“It’s an educational format as well as a woodworking format as well as a historical format.”
Another item Vance addressed on the show was a Bible box.
“A lot of people don’t realize the Bible was very prominent, because they used it to record family history. They would record the births, the deaths and the marriages in it. They would even put things in the Bible like a lock of hair from a deceased person or they would keep a flower from a wedding and press it in the Bible. A lot of the older Appalachian families, the Bible was the only book they would have. A lot of them would have a box just to keep the Bible in,” he said.
Vance starts each project with an antique piece and redesigns and builds it. After videotaping his construction of the project in his workshop, it is taken to an historical site and videotaped being employed the way it was used several generations ago.
Vance said the program appeals to several different demographics in viewership. He said he researched the initial concept for the show and found there was no television programming strictly geared to Appalachian furniture.
“I worked on it for about two years. There were a lot of legalities in setting it up, because it had to be trademarked. The first step was I went to the Small Business Administration and worked for four to six months with them. Then I approached PBS with just the concept. They were enthused about, so it was a matter of actually implementing a plan.
“PBS has been a tremendous help. The programming director, Eddie Isom, gave some advice and helped coach us along the way,” he said.
Following its initial-season wrap-up on Jan. 5, he said, “Appalachian Heritage Woodshop” will be rerun on the West Virginia Channel. Vance said he is gauging feedback to determine if he will produce a second season. Vance will be also soliciting suggestions from the public for second-season topics/projects, starting next month.
“If there’s enough interest, there will be a second season,” he said.
Vance is also a member of Mountaineer Woodturners and was one of the first members of Valley Woodworkers of West Virginia. He said he plans to open a new shop on his 50-acre Culloden farm in 2019.
For additional information about Vance’s work and services, visit www.appalachianheritagewoodshop.com or www.jerillvancewoodworks.com
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