Specialty made with the Wimberley Chair Company

Kathy and Dan Misiaszek have made thousands of Adirondack chairs and they aren’t through yet.

The Misiaszeks own the Wimberley Chair Company. You have probably driven past it many times and seen their chairs lined up along RR12.

Wimberley Chair operates out of a 3,300-squarefoot shop on their 50-acre ranch. The Misiaszeks produce more than just the classic Adirondack chair, although that’s where it all started. Over the years they have added rockers, loveseats, ottomans, end tables, children’s chairs, coffee tables, and swings. The furniture is available in a number of finishes, both stained and painted.

They have assembly down to a science. Dan created templates for each piece they offer — devices to lock the legs into place while it is being worked on. They snap in the foundation pieces and start screwing in the pre-cut boards. That process takes only 3 minutes. Kathy figures it takes about an hour to create a chair — from cutting the pine, to screwing it together, to applying the finish. Here are the nuts and bolts of a Wimberley Chair Company classic chair: 22 pieces of pine, 4 carriage bolts, 74 screws.

They try to buy local materials with the most popular stains coming from Ace Hardware in Wimberley. The wood is purchased from McCoy’s Building Supply just down 12 in San Marcos.

The Misiaszeks took a round-about route to furniture making. Both are retired San Marcos police officers. They helped start the San Marcos Area Recovery Team (START), a group that specializes in underwater investigation and recovery. They were involved in the widely publicized recovery of a diver’s body from deep within Jacob’s Well. The diver had died in 1979 and his body was recovered 21 years later by the San Marcos team, giving the family closure.

Dan also served in a private security position with the U.S. State Department in Iraq.

Today, Kathy and Dan say they are retired, but you would hardly know it from the buzz of their shop. The boards are marked and then cut with large miter saws. Holes are pre-drilled. The legs of the chairs are placed in the templates and screws are secured in a flash. Then it’s time to sand, apply the finish and let it dry.

They are looking to expand the wood shop. Most of the power tools they use were purchased off of Craig’s List, including an old meat saw that works nicely as a band saw and a 1950-era sander that’s still going strong.

“When we retired to this place,” says Dan, “we started making chairs just for our ranch. Then our kids would come and ask if we’d make some for them. Then it just kind of exploded.”

The first chairs they made were reclaimed from a fence that was torn down. “They are still holding up today,” says Dan.

Dan estimates they have produced more than 5,000 pieces of furniture over the years.

The Misiaszeks have not figured out how to efficiently ship the bulky chairs so most are sold locally. If you want to try one out, there are Wimberley Chair Company chairs on the patio of the Lumberyard Retail Center (near the radio station) on Old Kyle Road. The Wimberley Chair workshop is also open most days and customers can choose from existing stock or order a custom piece that will be ready in 2-3 days.

The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department purchased Wimberley Chair Company chairs for use at Lake Brownwood State Park. They ordered them in walnut stain to match the cabins in the park.

The walnut color remains one of the most popular finishes, along with the reddish hue of Australian Timber Oil and the lighter Heartwood Cedar. The legs of the chairs are made from pressure-treated wood to prevent insect and weather damage.

The Misiaszeks have a couple of other interests. They travel the world, mostly to SCUBA dive. “I guess you could say this furniture business finances our travels,” says Kathy.

Their ranch is home to numerous rescue animals including goats, dogs, and horses.

Why the attraction to Adirondack chairs? Dan was born and raised in Utica in upstate New York where the chairs originated. “We have changed the designs of our chairs a little,” says Dan. “Ours are made of different wood and are stronger. They are made for Texas.”