Talking with Bob Staebell

[bobaganoosh]

As some of you might know, I had an opportunity to bend the ear of Bob Staebell of Aristocrat Humidors last week. While I was there I asked several questions about him and his business. Here is a small bit of what was discussed...


How did you got into the business: It was a hobby that grew into a business.

I was in medical devices for most of my adult life. I got out in 1989-90 (insert "fab 40" crisis jokes here) & gave myself what I called my 20 yrs of work accumulated vacation--I didn't have to do anything for 2 years.

I built my first piece of furniture accumulating a few tools, simply because I couldn't find what I wanted. Found it to be very satisfying & began to build other pieces on request for friends. By 1992 I realized building custom furniture could be a business.

The first humidor was for a furniture client. Didn't really know what I was doing, but delved in & researched extensively. This was the height of the cigar boom & started building humidors on a larger scale.

Started my first web site in 1995 & the humidor business blossomed.

How long in the business: 1992

Is this considered work or a great hobby?: We build 4-500 cabinet humidors a year. With 7 employees it has to be operated as a business, but it's still all about the passion of wood & functional art. My wife calls me the "semi retired guy" who works 60-70 hours a week because he wants to.

Where have you shipped humi's to?: Virtually every state in the US. About 15% go overseas. Europe, China, Asia, even Saudi Arabia & Egypt.

What was the most unusual humi you ever made or the strangest request made? We have been asked over the years to convert many items I would never have thought of to be humidor material. One of the latest is to provide electronic humidification for a grand piano conversion.

In your opinion, what was the greatest humi you made? I haven't built my "best"... yet. The humidor I like the most is the one I am working on "today". It's all about the search for the perfect combination of wood grains & style--never ends.

Please tell me a little bit more about why your humi's are so exact (using precise scale and measuring devices)... The objective of a humidor is to make a semi airtight box with just the right amount of air exchange. Tolerances required are within a few thousanths of an inch to keep water consumption & required maintenance to comfortable intervals--ie. 6-10 weeks.

We use computerized cutting systems for the "grunt work" & dial calipers & other devices normally associated with tool & die making to maintain tolerances on door & other elements. I was an apprentice in a tool & die shop, for 4 years while in college--what we do wouldn't pass muster in a metal shop, but for wood is exceptionally close tolerance work.

The art of humidor making in our shop is really the blend of technology to do repetitive tasks accurately, with good old fashioned precise furniture making that requires a "feel" for the wood to bring out the best.

[stlcards]

Great write up Christian, I never knew there was so much precision in building humis.