THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 29, 1994 TAG: 9406280124
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LORI A. DENNEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940629 LENGTH: Medium
Whether it's maple, walnut or oak, Mosca is involved in the process from step one - even to the point of trooping out into the deep woods of Suffolk for the perfect tree to fill an order.
{REST} Mosca, usually with the help of a friend, cuts down the chosen tree and hauls it to a Suffolk mill where it's milled and kiln-dried.
When the wood is ready for assembly, Mosca gets to work fashioning whatever the customer has ordered.
He and his wife, Karen, who own Wooden Creations and Home Decor in the Farmers Market, have made and sold about 50 custom furniture pieces since April, when their business opened.
``It's done correctly, or it's junk,'' said Michael Mosca, 35. ``I've made a lot of firewood over the years.''
He will make any custom furniture piece desired. He's worked from pictures, customer's memories and even reproductions.
For instance, in the Farmers Market store, there's a 1932 reproduction of a Dutch dresser made of local red maple with a cherry finish.
Michael Mosca uses no lacquers or urethane coatings on his creations. He uses only layers of linseed oil with a drying agent to make the surface shiny.
He has been commissioned to make entertainment centers, dressers, grandfather clocks, bookshelves, rocking horses, doll and baby cradles, doll trunks, shadow boxes and even bathroom vanities.
One of his first commercial attempts was an entertainment center commissioned almost a year ago by Bill and Jeanne Crow. They hired him to build the center of their dreams. Together, the three came up with a design that Mosca built out of oak.
``We wanted an entertainment center for years,'' said Jeanne Crow. ``But, we wanted to design our own. We paid a fraction of what it cost (elsewhere).''
Although the Crows haven't had their center appraised yet, a family friend knowledgeable about furniture has told them the center probably would appraise ``about $3,000,'' almost double what the Crow's paid Mosca to make it.
``We recommend him all the time,'' Jeanne Crow said. ``It's just beautiful. It took four grown men to bring it in, and we intend to keep it forever.''
Although Michael Mosca specializes in custom furniture, some of his store's best-sellers are smaller items. Like a miniature replica of an airplane that costs between $35 and $50.
Rocking horses, also popular, sell for between $50 and $85. The customer can choose the type of wood.
The Moscas also sell a full line of woodworking tools.
Although the store features only a few of Michael Mosca's smaller creations, such as rocking horses and cradles, it also has many other craft-like products.
Most of these are done by local people and sold in the Moscas' store. There are ceramic pieces, dolls, miniature paintings and silk flowers.
Karen Mosca, 37, handles the craft and knickknack end of the business and leaves her husband of 14 years to the woodworking.
The reason the store isn't ``stuffed with furniture'' Michael Mosca said, is because ``I want to be able to build specifically what they want.''
He takes custom furniture orders on a 12-month layaway, with at least a $100 payment every month. Construction doesn't actually start until he gets at least 75 percent of the cost of the project, and then he promises delivery in six to eight weeks. Customers are given a one-time 10 percent discount just for ordering.
He said he refuses to work with pine, and that hardwoods are the only material he'll use for custom furniture.
A full-time boiler inspector with the Navy, Michael Mosca works at the furniture business on his off time. Karen Mosca also works full-time as a teller at NationsBank. They have an employee who runs the store in their absence.
Eight years ago, he began making furniture for the couple's Rosemont Road home because, ``We were getting tired of buying pressboard from stores and having it fall apart,'' he said.
According to Karen Mosca, ``The first time he built something it was like, `Oh, no!' When he got done, it looked really good. He surprised me.''
His first project was a solid oak entertainment center they still use in their home.
Many things have changed for Mosca since he began fashioning fine furniture out of wood. He lost his left eye in an accident aboard ship five years ago.
That's the only time - one month - that Mosca has not had his hands on a piece of wood, fashioning an heirloom for someone.
by CNB