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Allyn wood carving store undergoes change
By Danna Webster
KP News
Changes are being made at a favorite destination in
Allyn. The Northwest Experience gallery and gift shop,
which once offered 270 lines of gift items and many
flavors of ice cream cones and espresso drinks, is
narrowing its focus and getting a new name.
After 12 years, owner George Kenny
has chosen to downsize to only one location — the
downtown Allyn site where the business started — and to
eliminate anything that doesn’t have to do with chainsaw
wood carving or the chainsaw carving school.
A couple of favorite sayings have
helped Kenny with his decision. Downsizing from four
stores (which included Poulsbo and Snoqualmie locations)
to one is based on lessons learned from a “big boat
creates a lot of leaks.” And, changing the inventory at
the old, original, “steady Eddie store” is a result of
believing that “if you try to stay the same, you are
always going backwards,” he says.
Kenny says he is looking forward to
coming back to Allyn where he and his carvers have
created some popular attractions. One of the first was
the totem pole at the Port of Allyn featuring a
fisherman, an orca and a canoe. Kenny and Charlie
Hubbard carved the 30-foot totem about 10 years ago and
donated it to the park.
The carving school will now become
the focal point for the business. Kenny says the people
taking his classes provide him with a broad selection of
carvings to sell. He says he has about 600 carvings to
offer and a very diverse selection of works.
Of the students who attend classes,
about half are from out of state. This year’s students
range from Vermont and New York, to Colorado and Texas.
Some students make the carving school their working
vacation. Even the store manager, Shari Stormo, took a
carving class a couple of years ago. So along with
continuing to run the shop and gallery, she can be found
making finishing touches to carvings and creating some
of her own.
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