PRESERVING HISTORY AND VALUES: Steve Richardson
By Robert M. Higdon, Jr. Photography by Michael Booini
Famed lawyer and author Louis Nizer wrote, “A man who works with his hands is a laborer; a man who works with his hands and his brain is a craftsman; but a man who works with his hands and his brain and his heart is an artist.”
Panama City is quiet and peaceful on most days. Childhood memories flood through my head each time I visit the downtown area. It is familiar and changed at the same time. I remember Christmas and homecoming parades, marching down Harrison Avenue as a Cub Scout in the Fourth of July parade, Christmas shopping with my mother, going to the movies at the Martin Theatre, stopping by Mack Etheridge’s Marina to hear the latest fishing reports, and sailing my sailboat in front of the Cove Hotel and Yacht Club with my best friend, David. Every memory is like a Norman Rockwell painting.
An art deco building on 4th Street and Luverne Avenue has remained unchanged in all these years. The sign above the door reads “Richardson’s Refinishing and Antiques.” In the building that was once the home of the Western Auto store, where you could find anything from a pencil sharpener to a girl’s bicycle (my sister has fond memories of picking out her first bicycle one Christmas), treasures await to be rediscovered and brought to new life. The building has been home to Richardson’s Refinishing and Antiques for the last three decades.
As I open the door to the showroom, I am greeted by the distinct aroma of the quintessential tasty Southern breakfast–bacon, grits, and eggs–my first hint this is a business of Southern tradition and family values. Standing in line like soldiers are large armoires, desks, Old English library cabinets, chest-on-chests, and carved wood chairs. It is a feast for the eyes for someone who appreciates and can identify different periods of design and the origin of these quality furnishings. In the middle of the room, a huge table displays hundreds of fabric samples from some of the finest fabric houses in the world. I think to myself I could spend days looking at these and would never get bored.
In the workshop, a team of skilled craftsmen is at work. Doubtlessly, the meticulous attention to detail that their projects demand also defines the team spirit. Today, it includes a delicious breakfast that gets everyone into the right mood to get the job done–from mending a broken Meissen teapot and quieting the squeaking drawer of a Ransom & Randolph cabinet, to re-upholstering a Victorian chaise lounge.
Steve Richardson leans over the upstairs railing with a warm smile and shuffles down the stairs. Over the last few weeks, this man has offered a wealth of information and has helped bring beloved furniture pieces back to their old glory after a brief but devastating moving company transit. Steve takes a seat at a 60s-era oak wood classic that would have befitted Atticus Finch. My surroundings could easily be a stage set for a play or major motion picture. The business was founded by Steve Richardson’s father, Comer Richardson, in 1959 and has been family-owned and operated since.
As a collector and designer, I am appreciative of heirlooms and treasures and respect Steve Richardson and his team of virtuous craftsmen who breathe life and bring new glory to pieces that have served generations of owners. Does he consider himself a furniture refinisher or an antique conservator, I ask Steve. He pauses for a moment. “An antique conservator first and then a refinisher,” he nods. “It is important to maintain the integrity of the furniture, keeping its historic character. So many of the objects that pass through this shop are pieces that may have been passed down from one generation to the other, so they speak to the owner in a very personal way.”
Steve Richardson made it his mission to help people appreciate their family heirlooms and hopes they will preserve and appreciate the quality and style previous generations have enjoyed. “We have missed out on a good number of sales as we wind up convincing people to hold on to antiques that have been in their family. It is important to preserve family heirlooms and so, that is one of the things we do. They are more than objects. They are carriers of memories, tradition, and help keep the sense of family. There is a real important sentimental aspect to what we do here.”
It is a feast for the eyes for someone who appreciates and can identify different periods of design and the origin of these quality furnishings.
In 1959 Carter Craft Boats had a manufacturing plant in Panama City, Florida. Steve’s father was one of the employees. At the time, Carter Craft was renowned for high-quality boat building. Often seen in ski shows, Carter Craft boats were mainly known for their beauty and excellent woodwork. The inlaid wood and sleek design made them a classic of the time. Steve’s father learned much about wood finishing while at Carter Craft.
As the story goes, there was a Mr. Grimsley who owned Grimsley Furniture Hospital. He decided to get out of the business and Steve’s Dad and his business partner, Frank Mathes, bought the business on a whim. So began Richardson’s Furniture Shop.
Steve’s entre to the business started about this time as well. At age 11, as soon as school was out for summer break, Steve started working at Richardson’s “sweeping the floors and doing this and that.”
At first he was bored with the whole concept of working in this environment but slowly he was drawn into the art of woodworking. He saw people drop off things that meant the world to them that needed repair. He saw how clients and their families had relationships with their furniture pieces. Then he stepped back and realized the importance of these items in people’s lives.
Steve Richardson and business partner, Don Guidas, have been working together for 40 years. Sitting behind his desk surrounded by storied items, Steve remembers many of his clients with a fondness. The restoration of furniture sometimes uncovered not only the original wood but old memories and emotions. As coats of paint are stripped from much-loved furniture, history and values are revealed. “These beautiful objects sometimes represent more than we will ever know,” he says. Like a musician to a note, or an artist to canvas, Richardson’s work is a form of art – timeless.
