Ron Best, an Irishman who grew up in St. John’s, Newfoundland, learned about the wood reclaiming business when he was a young boy. “My dad’s an engineer,” says Ron, the lilt in his voice picking up when he thinks back on his formative years, “and so he used to build stuff all the time.” Growing up in a creative environment set Ron on the path he would take into adulthood, becoming a stonemason by trade. It was in his nature to build, create and restore; the most logical step was to show the world his gifts by opening Rural Reclaiming.
Ron does a variety of things at his shop, but they all centre on creating pieces for the home. He specializes in taking furniture pieces people have thrown away and breathing new life into them, imbuing a sense of magic in creating lovely new furniture. It doesn’t matter if you’ve got your eye on something in Ron’s shop or want him to start from scratch, he’ll do it all. “If I don’t have it in store,” he explains, “I’ll hunt for it, you know what I mean? So if they want a dresser I don’t have, they’ll just send me an email or picture of what they’re looking for and we’ll go pickin’ for it.” There’s no project too big or too small for Ron, as he relishes the opportunity to turn one man’s garbage into another man’s treasure.
