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Charlotte, Vermont - November 19, 2010

Inside his Charlotte studio, Dustin Glasscoe is creating a lot of dust as he builds his company, Vermont Farm Table.

"Everything that's old is new again and we're really coming around full circle to building classic American handmade solid wood furniture," Glasscoe said.

The North Carolina native learned woodworking from his furniture maker dad, but it was when Glasscoe got a job as a restaurant chef the idea for his business was born. "The table is very communal," he said.

He saw what was happening in the food industry-- renewed appreciation in farm-fresh, often organic meals-- and he thought people's dinner tables should be just as authentic as what's on their plates. "We've been inundated in our society with imported furniture that just doesn't really last and doesn't have the usefulness of the furniture of the past," he explained.

Much of the wood Vermont Farm Table uses was salvaged from old homes and barns. It's often more than a century old. Glasscoe showed off a tabletop with dark spots where sugarmakers drilled maple taps.

Dustin Glasscoe: Most people have no idea what tap hole maple is. It's not a common wood that's in the marketplace, and it's a very rare wood to find.

Reporter Jack Thurston: When I see a tap hole like this, I see character and I see Vermont. Does anyone else see an imperfection?

Glasscoe: I haven't met anyone yet.

Imperfections fit perfectly into Glasscoe's designs. He wants tables that look rustic and well-loved; ones you're not afraid to have your kid sit at and spill on. His whole concept is getting people out of their rush-around routines and back to sitting down with family and friends. "The table is a gathering place. Part of Vermont Farm Table is a catalyst to connect people to their families and food," Glasscoe said.

Vermont Farm Table started up 2 years ago at the onset of the recession: "We had nothing to lose, and no expectations for growth."

It was a sideline to Glasscoe's job as an internet marketing consultant-- work he still does. His online sales savvy helped him sell 200 tables this year, and hire a few part-time workers. The former chef says he's on track to sell twice as many in 2011.

Thurston: You still cook?

Glasscoe: I still do cook, every day.

Thurston: And where do you serve your meals?

Glasscoe: We serve them on a Vermont Farm Table!

Many of his sales go to Manhattan, Connecticut, and New Jersey, and increasingly, to California: places where homeowners and designers are not scared off by the average $1,500-$2,000 or more price tags for the custom work. "As often as I hear my tables are expensive, I also hear that they're extremely affordable," Glasscoe said.

It can take weeks to process and finish each Vermont Farm Table. That care and hands-on attention is burned into so many products labeled "Made in Vermont."

"And we feel good about everything that goes out the door," Glasscoe said.

Vermont Farm Table uses non-toxic finishes and when handling wood from old homes and barns, the craftsmen say they plane down the surfaces well to remove any lead paint or other substances.

Click here for more on Vermont Farm Table.

Jack Thurston - WCAX News