On the quiet Main Street in the small town of Hoffman, MN there is a
family-owned business that is fighting fire with fire.
Jerry and Deb Krusemark and their son, Tony, own and operate Barn Burner
Products. And just as the name implies, they are in the business of burning
dilapidated barns, rather than seeing them go up in smoke.
Instead of the historic old farm buildings being bulldozed to the ground and set
on fire, the Krusemarks dismantle the barns, rescue the wood, and make
wood-burned signs they ship all over the United States.
"We are in a very unique business and our market is unique," Jerry said. "We
don't have anyone, to our knowledge, duplicate what we are doing."
Barn Burner Products was sparked about 25 years ago when Jerry saw a woodburned
piece of art in a restaurant.
"I told my wife I could do that," Jerry recalled.
He rescued some old wood from a barn that had fallen down on property his
brother owned, bought a woodburning set, and created his first masterpiece. His
sister-in-law was so impressed that she put the art in her clothing shop and
sold it for $175.
"That was the triggering device for me to do more," Jerry continued. "There was
no particular reason I used barn wood, except that I had access to it."
At the time, Jerry was farming with his father-in-law in southwestern Minnesota
but continued to burn barn-wood art when he had the chance. After a move to
Arizona, Jerry started attending the Phoenix swap meet every Sunday, where he
sold his art to people from all over the world. A few years later, they moved
to Hoffman where he made his living as a carpenter and craftsman, while he was
"still fooling with woodburning art."
His hobby ignited into a full-time job when the couple started traveling to arts
and crafts shows. But life on the road didn't take long to become tiresome, and
the Krusemarks began dealing with a wholesale gift market representative to
market their art.
In 1996, the couple bought a laser to assist with burning the drawings. With
that purchase, prices had to be raised significantly, which eventually shut
down their wholesale market and placed Barn Burner Products in a "severe
financial position."
Knowing he had to come up with a laser product that would be both affordable and
marketable, Jerry came up with the idea of making signs.
"It put us to a point that it turned business around," Deb said of the switch
from artwork to signs in late 1999.
The 4 by 9-1/2 inch signs display one of 1,500 short, funny quips, such as, "My
other boat is a yacht," "I don't approve of political jokes! I've seen too many
of them elected" and "Dear Santa: Leave presents, take brother!"
Twenty boards are laid on a 2-foot by 4-foot laser table. A hazy gray smoke
rises into the air as two long arms with sharp tips on the ends etch words into
the wood. The lasers can burn 20 signs in 20 minutes. All of the signs are made
from wood rescued from barns that would otherwise be destroyed.
"Initially I went out and asked," Jerry said of how he locates the wood. "I went
from the asking point to where we receive calls wanting to know if we will come
take a look at their barn."
The Krusemarks do not buy the barns. Instead, they offer to dismantle them and
remove every possible piece of wood, including the siding, roof boards and
floors. In turn, they give something back to the owner in the form of an
heirloom or keepsake to show their appreciation.
"Most people who work with us are glad to see someone use it as opposed to it
being burnt and buried," Jerry added. "We don't like to see the old wood
destroyed."
The quality and burnability is the main reason the Krusemarks have kept with
barn wood over the years.
"The character in the weathered wood gives each piece such an individual
beauty," Deb said. "New lumber doesn't have character, and it won't take the
burn the same."
"Barn wood for the burning of pictures is extremely dry. It is an ideal medium
for woodburning art," Jerry agreed.
On average, one barn can produce anywhere from 4,000 to 5,000 woodburned signs.
The company uses the wood from about 20 to 30 barns every year.
Three years ago, the couple's son, Tony, joined the family business. With his
arrival, Barn Burner Products added a new product to their line – furniture.
"I want to keep the signs because it's a cash commodity," Tony said. "But I want
to grow on the furniture."
The furniture is made from reclaimed lumber from buildings that are 80 to 100
years old, including houses, granaries and of course, barns.
"When you go back that far you are looking at virgin timber, the first cutting
of the trees," Tony said.
"I have a U.S.-made product that started way back in the early 1900s or even
before," Jerry said proudly of Barn Burner Products. "Carpenters built these
buildings by hand. That's the start of our process."
And thanks to the burning desire of an artist from a rural Midwestern town, the
end product of that process now entertains and inspires in homes all over the
country.