About Johnny {J W} Morlan
Johnny {J W} Morlan
Johnny {J W} Morlan is a woodworking artist. Johnny has owned and operated his business, J W Morlan's Unique Wood Gifts full time since 1989. He is, and has always been the sole webmaster of his business website.
If you would like to contact him, his e-mail address is, morlanwoodgifts@fastmail.fm
Johnny was born September 18, 1956, in Chillicothe Missouri. When he was about 3 years old his family moved about 90 miles away to Moberly Missouri. This is where he grew up, went to school and graduated from high school in 1975. He moved away from Moberly in 1981.
When he was about 7 years old he started helping his dad who did carpentry jobs. When Johnny was in his teen years his dad would sometimes become extremely irritated with him because he would always want to make the finish moldings and cabinets more intricate. His dad felt their customers might not appreciate or like the more fancy designs. Johnny also enjoyed creating small wooden objects. His dad told him there was not a market for such things, nobody would be interested in them or want to buy them. As he grew older he found out most people also agreed with his dad's statements.
In 1989, Johnny decided to stop listening to all those people and that was when J W Morlan's Unique Wood Gifts was born. He took 1 year of wood shop class in junior high school where he made average grades. Johnny has always loved and had a passion for working with wood.
Before Johnny started his own business he worked for a contractor that built and refinished cabinets and furniture.
He also worked for five years with a lumber and hardware store in the paint department where he helped hundreds of customers with their home and woodworking projects. He was well known in the area for being able to match a competitor?s stain or paint color well enough to spot paint or stain with it. He did this by using paints or stain bases and adding different colorants to it by eye {no computer matching in those days} until it matched the sample the customer had supplied.
Johnny has worked with unique woods since 1983. People from over 220 countries have viewed and admired his creations. He is a member of the International Who's Who Historical Society {his short biography is featured in the 2001-2002 edition of the International Who's Who of Entrepreneurs}. He is a member of the following organizations and associations: Rainforest Alliance Smart Wood Program, National Arbor Day Foundation, International Wood Collectors Society, Woodworker's Website Association, Woodworkers Book Club and a lifetime member of Handyman Club of America.
He received two honors in 2002, one being nominated for inclusion in the 2002 edition of the International Directory of Distinguished Leadership and the other being nominated by the Governing Board of Editors of the American Biographical Institute for the title Man Of The Year - 2002. In 2003 he was contacted by and did accept being represented by an art marketing agency in London England to market his wood art works throughout Europe.
Some of Johnny's creations were chosen to be featured and sold on the TV show America's Product Showcase. His desk set creations were selected by Home Shopping International to sell on their website {HSI Online.} Some of his designs, woodworking tips and jigs have been published in trade magazines.
To help create quality, unique pieces of work, Johnny has studied hundreds of woodworking magazine articles and more than 220 books on woodworking by as many as 180 authors. In addition he has studied numerous books and magazine articles on art, business, marketing, advertising and web mastering. He consults with both individuals and companies {World Tree Technologies, Impact Group New York, & B. K. Brown Designs} on the best wood, procedures and finishing techniques to use in the production of their wooden projects or products and how to advertise their products.
He has worked more than 500 species of wood. His wood collection he periodically takes to schools and shop classes. There he answers the student's questions, educates them about the sustainable sources for wood and shows them the world of wood that many of them will probably never see.
Numerous motivational and philosophical proverbs hang on the walls of his studio. He lives and teaches them. He Loves teaching people who like and are interested in woodworking the true {Art} of woodworking!