Tucked behind The Rock Depot in Los Alamos is the finish carpentry shop of Richard Motz. For thirty years, Motz has been constructing everything from handmade bars to the roof of a 1918 International truck.
Ever since Stephan Bedford, of Bedford Thompson Winery, gave Motz six used wine barrels and asked, “What can you make out of these?” Motz has been building his wine barrel furniture.
Motz’s wine barrel furniture pieces are one-of-a-kind items, each with its own natural stain — from the wine that is — or you can choose your own stain to create a unique piece of furniture with each barrel stave matched. And when he uses the red wine barrel staves, they look like sumptuous red velvet.
With Christmas and Hanukkah coming, Motz can make any wine connoisseur happy with an array of wine barrel furniture to choose from, or give him your idea and he will build it for you. Motz’s other creations include loveseats, rocking chairs, coffee tables, plant stands, lazy Susans and decorative centerpieces that can all be seen at the No Name Museum where Richard has a showroom.
The No Name Museum is the yellow building on the corner of Bell and Helena Streets in Los Alamos. And don’t look for a street number, or a sign, ’cause there aren’t any. Of course, if you get thirsty while visiting Los Alamos, you can always amble up the street to American Flatbread, nestle yourself into one of Motz’s barstools, and sip some Flatbread Red while you rest your elbows on just one of the many bars Motz has built in Los Alamos. Oops! Is elbow resting a faux pas?
Motz is not limited to building furniture; he also does restoration work and finish carpentry, so if you have an old Victorian that needs work, he’s the man to call. Richard Motz can be reached at 698-2685.