family's skill but to their customer's
imaginations.
The custom-made chairs, tables, beds
and cabinets are a result of close col-
laboration, says Mike McSwain, 64, who
in 2005 turned over the presidency of the
business to his son, Eric, 37. "In building
a bed for them (customers) to sleep in
the rest of their lives, we sort of develop a personal relationship with
them.
Customers --
from New York to
Hawaii -- bring their ideas, and some-
times even their wood, to the business
at 8608 Lawyers Road begun in 1960 by
the late Eulan McSwain, Mike's father.
There the McSwains tell them what can
and cannot be done and give them two-
dimensional drawings of their ideas and
samples of wood finishes.
Clients respond with an active inter-
est, sometimes coming by during the
building process to take pictures. "We
have had the pleasure of working with three generations of McSwain's,
" says
Esten Mason of Charlotte. Eulan built
dining room chairs for the Masons, Mike
made a lowboy and Eric made a chest of drawers. "Their work is
exceptional,"
Mason says.
Mike McSwain, an admirer of the
crafstmanship in antiques, likes to emu-
late those long-ago masters. "How did
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