About
What is Cosmo’s Woodshop?
Welcome to Cosmo’s Woodshop. Cosmo’s is a small, one man shop (if you don’t count my wife who works as hard as I do) near Downtown Arlington, Texas specializing in unique, modern, wooden goods. We are proud to support our local economy and neighborhood by providing not only a hard to find service, but also by providing other local designers and craftsman an outlet for their work. On this site you will find works and products designed and built locally. From our one of a kind pieces of furniture to our promotional items we are committed to keeping home grown creativity alive and promoting local business. We hope you like what we have to offer here and can help us in supporting our community.
Who the Heck is Cosmo?
Cosmo is my 11 year old, 25 lb., orange, American shorthair tabby CAT with one good eye. He showed up on our doorstep about two weeks after my wife and I were married and moved into our first apartment in Springville, UT. In spite of my protests, my wife decided that we should feed him. He became my best friend, and my wife’s bane and the rest is history. He won’t be around for much longer, but maybe by naming my shop after him he will achieve something few people, let alone animals, ever do: a little bit of immortality.
Who the Heck am I?
My name is Josh. I have done more things and been more things in my short life than should be allowed. I was born in Utah but grew up in Arlington, Texas. I have been a map reader, a DJ, a pool boy, fleet manager, government bureaucrat, missionary, soldier, truck driver, father and husband. I have visited more than half of the states, hiked 80 miles in 10 days, driven a Harley Davidson across the Golden Gate bridge with my wife on the back, lost a battle with a mountain in my 4×4, eaten octopus in Sicily, waded in the Amazon, directed traffic in Baghdad, and helped people sort through their belongings after the biggest tornado in history destroyed their homes. I have lived on three continents including South America (Brazil) and Asia (Iraq). I think you can guess the third. I speak portuguese fluently. Through it all I have been a creator. To put it simply, I make things.
I made my first piece of furniture about 8 years ago for my newly born twin boys. They were going to need a toy box and I thought the ones for sale were flimsy and cheap. I borrowed some tools and my parents’ garage and built them one. This one has survived more than any piece
of furniture could reasonably be expected to survive. In a few years I’ll refinish it and give it to the next generation. After that I had to make some side tables for my bed. And then a bed for my bed. Then friends and family wanted things. With every project I got more tools, more how-to books and more experience. Now I can’t think of doing anything else.
I design and work wood my own way. I don’t do spindly or country and don’t tell my fellow Texans, but I don’t like furniture made out of logs. I like straight lines and naked wood. I like simplicity and perfection. I consider each piece a work of art. I make sculptures out of wood that you can sit and eat on. Making hand made furniture isn’t easy or cheap. I can’t hope to compete with the mass of furniture made in Asia by workers being paid $2 a day. Shaping a headboard by hand to get it to curve just right takes time and time is worth money. If you want quick and cheap, go to Ikea. I do. If you want unique, quality and beauty that you can pass down to your kids then please take a look around.
Advertising
We use a couple different forms of advertising here at Cosmo’s Woodshop and encourage you to support our website by clicking on their links. All it takes is a click to help out. Yes, I do get paid if you click, even if you don’t buy what’s being advertised so click away.
Spelling
I want to set something straight. I can’t spell. I am hopeless. I have been a laughing stalk my whole life. People who know me just get used to it, chuckle, and move on. I reserve the right to spell things however I like on this website. With luck, my wife will catch most of my mistakes, but I make no promises. If you see something really wrong, go ahead and laugh. Everybody else does.
