Local woman makes tables shaped like states

Sturgis, the proprietor of Sturgis Signs, makes tables with wooden tops shaped like states. The Manson, Iowa native is a sign-maker by trade (she's been in the business more than 20 years), and recently came upon a novel use for her wooden state maps. 

When Strugis first hung out her shingle as a sign-maker 20 years ago, her work was similar to what she did at a previous job at Sign Pro -- more like automotive graphics than folksy decor. 

"But now I've kind of ventured off into doing more the wood signs for the house," she said. 

One type of sign (and furniture) coming out of Sturgis' basement woodshop has become an especially hot commodity: state- and U.S.-shaped wooden wall maps and tables. 

The wood maps Sturgis makes begin life as paper maps. The maps are placed over specially-selected wood ("that has the most grain and the most knots,") and subjected to a treatment that transfers the map image to the wood. 

"Once you pull the paper off, the ink (of) the map stays on the wood," she said. All told, the process might take five hours, depending on the nature of the project. 

Wooden maps were a natural choice for Sturgis, since she has an interest in both.

"I love maps, and I love wood," she said. 

So far, Sturgis has made maps in the shape of the United States, Iowa, South Dakota, Nebraska and Wisconsin. Which states she makes depends on which states customers order. 

"I would love to make all of them," she said. 

At first, Sturgis' maps were only wall decor. She began to ponder other uses for the maps, and eventually she decided to try turning them into tables. 

Her table-making began modestly -- she made only one at first. Soon after she posted her work on Facebook, the tables' popularity exploded, orders flowed in and she sold dozens. 

"It took off in South Dakota first -- people in South Dakota love their own state," she said. "They ordered a ton of them during Christmas time. So I was constantly making South Dakota." 

It probably doesn't hurt that South Dakota is, in reality, shaped more or less like a rectangular table with a couple rough corners. 

After finding a following in South Dakota, she posted her work on the Des Moines-area Facebook swap site. Then the demand for Iowa tables exploded. 

While the Des Moines market rapidly became a leading consumer of tables shaped like Iowa, and South Dakota was so enamored that her maps have a presence at a boutique in Brookings, Sioux City has never expressed that level of interest. 

"Something about this area, they don't really care," Sturgis said with a laugh. "I don't know what it is. It's kind of weird."