About Us
Red Poppy Studios is located in the beautiful city of Lawrence, Kansas, about 50 miles west of Downtown Kansas City. It is a small, family-owned business that has been in business for over 40 years.
Michael, an exceptional artist, craftsman and woodworker heads up this husband-and-wife team.
Custom Built Furniture
Custom Stained Glass
785-838-3800
Copyright 2010 Red Poppy Studios: Custom Mantels. All Rights Reserved.
Wood Fireplace Mantels & More
A "real" hammer and saw for Christmas at age ten would launch Michael's career in woodworking. Today, some 50 years beyond that long-ago Christmas, he asserts, "with the knowledge acquired through self-teaching lies the gift of the ultimate experience."
Throughout the years Michael has learned, taught, and practiced virtually every aspect of the woodworking trades.
Having restored his first antique for monetary compensation at age thirteen, he went on to design and build pieces in wood shop during his school years.
At age twenty-six, Michael had his first full-size commercial facility, building custom furniture for the area's top decorators and the public, as well as restoring fine antiques.
Designing and building custom kitchens would become the primary interest for several years. This evolved to home remodeling and custom home building and a few historic house restorations. Throughout the residential building years, the ever-present wood shop would support and provide the ongoing needs of home building and restoration -- custom mantels, cabinetry, trim, stair components, all produced in the shop as the need dictated.
In the late 1990s, Michael was commissioned to build an Arts & Crafts Style Display Case (pictured in the Furniture Gallery). The project was completed and a new era of interest for Michael was born.
In the years since, Michael has devoted countless hours of time and energy to the study of the Arts & Crafts Period, its founders, and their philosophies, recreating, in his own perception, the style and methods in which their concepts were constructed.
Presently, at the culmination of his ventures, Michael, ponders the idea of retirement. But woodworkers never retire; they only become more attuned to their craft. So, being a master craftsman is his next venture, designing and building wood fireplace mantels and fine furniture, and restoring fine antiques when the request comes about.
Creating "one piece at a time", each piece is signed and dated.
Kathrine, wife and devoted apprentice of 30-plus years, completes this husband-and-wife team at Red Poppy Studios. She provides invaluable support and assistance with antique furniture restoration, furniture designing, as well as being the stained glass artist in the studio.
Kathrine remembers as a young child admiring a stained glass church window, studying each piece of glass, the colors and the lines. "I was in awe, wondering just how it was created. This sense of wonder and admiration for the beauty, the connection to the color and texture of stained glass is still with me today. Some years ago, not concerning myself with the technical 'how to' I just knew I could create my own glass creations." And so the art and the craft began.
From commissioned projects, artwork creations to glass repairs, Kathrine can provide a full scope of the custom stained glass craft.
Michael and Kathrine are pleased to offer their talents to others, and their standard of quality is simple: each project is approached as if it is their own -- as if it is going into their home to be enjoyed and treasured by their own family and passed on as a family heirloom.
And their philosophy on client satisfaction is equally as simple. "We accept nothing short of perfection. Nothing short of what we consider a superior product. We have always told each of the hundreds of our clients if in any fashion we fail to meet their expectations, they owe us nothing, and we will proudly place the piece in our own home." And they are proud to say, "Throughout all the years, we have never taken a client's project home."
And a final note from Michael and Kathrine to you:
"It is our sincere hope that you will enjoy the photos in the galleries and the information contained herein, and that you will revisit our site often, as we are always changing the galleries. Should you have any questions, an idea, or would just like to know more about us, please feel free to contact us."
