Craig Daily Press / Photo galleries / Communities at Work: Burly gone green

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The name Burly Brothers originated several years ago when a waitress in Ohio mistook a pair of brothers for professional wrestlers. The two jokingly made up the name Burly Brothers, and several years later one of those men, Mikah Egan, took the name to his business, Burly Brothers Unique Log Furniture. Egan opened his business after working for another log furniture maker and decided he would rather make his paycheck by each piece sold instead of the hourly wage put into it. “To make your own schedule is paramount,” Egan said of running his shop for four years, now at 175 Mack Lane. Egan said his business not only manufactures beautiful furniture, but also is incredibly friendly to the environment. He considers his process to be green cubed.

Mikah Egan and his dog, Aspen, pose for a portrait in front of a bed set Egan made out of blue stained spruce, more commonly known as beetle kill, in his shop. Burly Brothers Unique Log Furniture is at 175 Mack Lane.

Photo by Shawn McHugh

Mikah Egan looks at a stack of blue stained spruce inside his storage unit. All of the wood Burly’s uses is deadfall, meaning Egan's business does not rely on the harvesting of live trees.

Photo by Shawn McHugh

Mikah Egan marks a knobbed log with chalk lines used to guide his saw in his workshop. Egan said fitting the wood pieces together is similar to completing a jigsaw puzzle.

Photo by Shawn McHugh

Mikah Egan checks to make sure all facets of this office desk fit together perfectly. All pieces of the furniture must be squared and sized before the final project is complete.

Photo by Shawn McHugh

Mikah Egan saws a section of beetle-killed wood to size at his workbench. The wood is particularly difficult to work with because of its irregularities, the same quality that makes it preferable to many furniture consumers.

Photo by Shawn McHugh

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