Ken is one of the co-founders of Vermont Woods Studios, along with his wife, Peggy Farabaugh. The original craftsmen at Vermont Woods Studios (Peggy started selling Ken's furniture online in 2005), he's got ~40 years of experience building furniture.
Ken fills a multitude of roles at Vermont Woods Studios including: CFO, Head of HR, Facilities Manager, Damage Repair Specialist, Warehousing Consultant, Shipper, and probably another dozen or so titles we could give him.
Q&A with Ken Farabaugh, Co-Founder & CFO
When did you start at Vermont Woods Studios and what brought you here?
I started with Vermont Woods Studios when Peggy came into my shop in 2005 and said “
We’re going to start a business from here”!
Ken looks on as Peggy cuts the ribbon at a ceremony celebrating the completed renovation of
Stonehurst, the Vermont Woods Studios headquarters
What does a typical work day look like for you?
There is no typical day for me. Work ranges from payroll, financial, HR, taxes, cutting, splitting and stacking wood, building cutting boards, fixing furniture from shipping damage, changing the oil in the tractor, clearing snow (thankfully not now), unloading trucks, delivering furniture, picking up product, building maintenance to name a few.
What’s your favorite part about working at Vermont Woods Studios?
Watching the staff accomplish great things.
Pizza or Ice Cream?
Both, pizza followed by ice cream
What’s your favorite Vermont brand (other than Vermont Woods Studios)?
Vermont Flannel
Describe your typical commute to work.
Two miles of spectacular scenery.
You’re furnishing your dream house. What’s in it?
Beautiful
Hubbardton Forge soft lighting.
You’re dumping your old dining set. What’s next? Why?
A beautiful Woodland Custom Extension Dining Table. It is made by
Vermont Furniture Designs which is an oil finish because of the ease of fixing any issue with the top. Easy to sand off and re-oil.
Our
Woodland Custom Dining Table with Extensions in Natural Cherry Wood
Pick one bed to sleep on for the rest of your life.
New England Shaker Bed. I like the curves and simplicity.
What else should we know about you?
Lot’s
What are you jamming out to?
Smooth jazz all-stars Pandora radio unless I really feel like partying, then I go to the 70’s (think Lynryd Skynyrd, Steppenwolf, Chicago, AWB, Earth Wind and Fire, Hall & Oats, and many others including disco!
What’s one book you’d recommend everyone should read?
Execution - The Discipline of getting things done.
What are you watching on Netflix?
Rudy, Ruuuddy, Ruuuuuddy.
What’s your all-time favorite quote to live by?
Life is very short, time is a precious commodity, you only have each day once so learn something each day that you will be able to share with someone you love.
Who’s your favorite superhero?
My mom and dad!
If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?
A large
oak that provides shade, lumber, heating (high btu/lb rating) and when it’s time has come there are little oaks all around it that will continue to provide the same.
What’s your spirit animal?
The elusive mountain lion.
If you could have lunch with anyone, who would it be?
My wife Peggy!
It’s a hot summer Saturday in Vermont. Where are you, and what are you doing?
Either riding the Harley in the cool of the green mountains or in the bass boat fishing and relaxing.
What’s your favorite flavor of Ben & Jerry’s?
Definitely Cherry Garcia!
What Else?
- Much of the furniture at the Vermont Woods Studios headquarters was built by Ken from Oak trees we cut down and milled on the property.
- He's an avid Steelers fan
- Ken spent most of his career as a nuclear engineer
- Fun fact, Ken only has 9.25 fingers (.5 lost to a log splitter and .25 lost to a table saw). That doesn't stop him from running a chainsaw, though, and he's been known to compulsively stack wood on summer days.
- He authored a post on our blog about how to maintain an outdoor wood boiler
Other questions for Ken?
Ask us on Twitter!
