In September 2005 we moved from Charleston,
    South Carolina to our new home in a suburb of
    Savannah, Georgia.

                   Our new home didn't have a workbench!!.
    I found myself missing the built-in bench that we left  
    behind.

    I've always thought of the work area as a place to make
    small repairs or even tackle some very large projects.

    Weekends were spent helping Emily to organize and
    getting our daughter, Nina, settled in, not to mention the
    new 1 1/2 acre lawn calling out for attention! Emily
    wanted so badly to find me a  work ready  Bench.

                    All she could find was a metal bench with a
    very thin top. There was nothing available of any
    substance to buy locally or online. While she paid a
    premium for it, I was overjoyed with her thoughtfulness.
    I was so excited until I had to put this 250 some odd
    pieces of mostly metal together.

    I think there was more excitement in seeing the colorful
    box than the finished product. It was shaky. The
    drawers didn't fit right. The worst part was the day I had
    to hammer out a part from my lawnmower. The sounds
    of metal parts jingling with every hit caught the attention
    of everyone within 100 yards. I simply could not
    understand why one would be forced to buy this type of
    product made in some third world country only to have
    this type of disappointment.

                 Needless to say, this was the beginning of my
    quest to create a simple, well made bench, easy to
    assemble, and that would withstand abuse and yet be
    the center of attention in my workspace.

    The original "Big John" workbench, "Made in America"  
    was born. What began as a frustration is now a thriving
    business. We have had orders from all over the country
    to produce the "Big John"

    Milestones:
September 2005 ~ The Big John Designed.
August 2006 ~ Website and Shop created.
September 2006 ~ The first products ordered and
delivered.
January 2007 ~ We moved back to Charleston, we
missed it so much.
June 2007 ~ We sold our 200th bench!
March 2008 ~ We moved to our commercial shop
location on Signal Point Road.
June 2008 ~ We sold our 540th Bench! And added
the Palmetto Workstation inspired by the "Serve You"
Corp of Wisconsin!
November~ We reached our 610th benchmark.
January 2009~ We have expanded to an additional
1,500 Square feet of Industrial space which will allow
for dedicated finishing and shipping space.
June 2009~ We added 2 more bench products to our
line of custom benches-- The Gardeners Bench, and
the Palmetto Grande!
July 2009~ Coming Soon~ The Constitution Reload
Bench!

July 2009~ We have negotiated and additional 3,000
sq ft for our shops. We will now have 4500 sq ft of
manufacturing opportunity.
September 2009 we sold our 1700th Bench.
December 2009 ~ New ! Jewelers Bench.
January 2010 ~We introduced Hard Rock Maple tops
on All of our Workbenches to enhance the longevity
and value.
              
    We hope that you enjoy our site and do hope that
    should you purchase one of our American Handmade
    Workbenches and that you find it to be the center of
    attention in your garage or work area, that you'll enjoy it
    as much as I do.        

John, Emily, and Nina Zirpola
John Zirpola - Bench Tops, Bench and Product design.