The Manual Woodworkers and Weavers,
Inc. began as a small souvenir business in 1932 by Tom and Queenie
Oates. Many of the wood items they sold were made by Tom himself
on wood-working equipment powered by a water wheel. Queenie
operated the store and bought handicrafts such as hooked and
woven rugs from area artisans.
In 1974 their son, Lemuel, and his wife, Sandra, started running
the business, adding many more outside craftsmen. In the late
80's they changed the name of the business from Manual Woodworkers,
Inc. to Manual Woodworkers and Weavers, Inc. so that the company
name would better reflect what the company's main product line
had become - beautifully woven afghans and accessories. This
is also when Manual began to manufacture woven products rather
than buying from outside sources.
In the early 90's we began to put together
our "one-stop-shop" product line. Our goal was to
provide a product line so diverse that the independent store
owner could shop at one location, for one minimum order and
fill their store with great selling merchandise. At Manual Woodworkers
and Weavers we are committed to you our customer: We are also
continually striving to improve the level of service we provide.
We are proud to announce that our new state-of-the-art fully
automated warehouse, opened early last fall, is fully operational
and allowing us to fulfill orders with unequaled speed and accuracy.
This 175,000 square foot facility will enable us to maintain
fast, quality service to our customers for many years to come.
