Chad Taylor knew at an early age what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. The wonders of wood have inspired him since his kindergarten days when he made his first race car out of a piece of plywood and a 2x4.

"After completing my first project, I made race cars for all the other kids in the class," said Taylor, owner of American Woodworking Inc. "We would drive them around in the sand at recess. My grandfather built me a tool bench and I used my handsaws, hammer, nails, and hand-cranked drills cutting down trees and making tree houses. I have a lot of love for design and building things. It's always been a yearning within to be creative and that's why I chose woodworking as the avenue to explore my artistic abilities."

After graduating from college, where he majored in industrial technology with an emphasis on furniture manufacturing, Taylor began his career working out of American Decor. He began seeking employment in the St. Louis and Kansas City area, to find there were no woodworking positions open.

"So I made a decision to stick it out here in town and start my own business in 1990," he said. "I started out refinishing antiques for a couple of years and then I bought out a big portion of the tools at the Hannibal Cabinet factory and started making countertops and other wood items. In 1994, I moved into the old Mark Twain Produce building. I have built the business to what it is now from the back of my pickup truck to 20,000 square feet."

Not sure, exactly what it will look like, what materials to use, how big it needs to be? No problem, according to Taylor.

"Vision, problem solving and adaptability are the foundation for creating the pieces needed," he said. "At American Woodworking, you can have as little or as much input as you want. We will design the piece that you couldn't find searching in catalogs and showrooms. We build to suit all levels. The process is entirely up to you. Just changing the color of a counter top will change the look of your kitchen for an economical price."

Building from architect drawings to a customer's image, the business focuses on quality, experience and dependability.

"From the moment you first contact us to the time the piece is finished, we strive to make your experience simple, productive and enjoyable," said Taylor. "Whether you are conservative or flamboyant, like antiques or modern art, we have the ability to produce pieces that accent what you already have and compliment your style."

Cool Custom Furniture, a division of American Woodworking, creates unique furniture for the home and office. Every piece is a custom design, handcrafted by the woodworking team.

Samples of Taylor's work can be seen all over town and around the state. Many of the schools, banks, restaurants, hotels and other businesses have cases, desks, furniture and other items made by American Woodworking. The Hannibal Public Library has bookcases with Taylor's signature circle design.

"When work slows down around the local area we look outside for work," said Taylor. "We just completed the interior to Bennigans Restaurant in Fort Madison, Iowa. We are in negotiations on a very large hotel project in Burlington, Iowa. We're also planning a hotel in Wisconsin and one in Illinois. We're just wrapping up a 30-unit custom kitchen loft apartment project in St. Louis, which has been a two-year project, and we're getting ready to start a 30-unit loft project in downtown Kansas City toward summer."

Designing is Taylor's main object in the shop, leaving the production to his five-member crew who have over 50 years combined experience. "It's a team effort here," said Taylor. "I can't say enough about all the hard work the team puts forth. They do a great job building my designs and casework as well as architect and spec work." Taylor also employs office help and subcontractors when he gets overloaded with work.

Specializing in all areas of woodworking, Taylor prefers creating his own designs with his signature circle.

"While in college, I studied different furniture designers of the old time," said Taylor. "Chippendale, Heft White, White Brothers - these are the valuable antiques of today. The furniture made by these designers all have elements that were recognizable. Each had their specific, unique characteristics you could visibly see and would be present in all their pieces so you could easily identify them."

After studying the masters, Taylor said he decided he wanted to come up with a type of uniqueness that would identify his work, so he decided to put circles in every piece that he made.

"Circles have always been something that I've been drawn to," he said. "At a young age someone told me that Frank Lloyd Wright said, 'there's nothing square about the human body, and to me there's nothing square about a circle.' I always visualized a circle when I heard someone talk about Frank L. Wright."

A dining room table Taylor made in college was his inspiration for the trademark circles. "I now try to incorporate an oak circle, patterns of circles, or repeated designs in everything I make," he said. "There's a formula to how I put the circles together. It is in proportion of thickness of the wood to the diameter of the hole and factors the size of the routered edge around the hole of the circles."

Interacting with other artists, Taylor is a member of the Provenance Project. "I have been involved with Provenance since the beginning. I support the arts and consider myself more of a functional artist," he said. "I've had displays with the Hannibal Arts Council, private shows, Gallery Night and at the Alliance Gallery."

In his spare time, Taylor enjoys his hobby of go-kart racing. "I didn't race a lot last summer," he said. "I was working six and seven days a week, so I didn't have a lot of time to travel out of state, but I'm still involved with racing."

Future plans for the business include constructing a new building in approximately two years. "I'm starting to run out of space here," said Taylor. "It's getting busier everyday and we're getting calls from farther away for large projects. I would like to stay in the downtown area, but may move out toward Industrial Drive where I have some property."

Desiring to leave a legacy through his work, Taylor said he wants to be known as the furniture designer of the turn of the century.

"Long after I'm gone, my pieces and designs will still be out there," he said. "They will be the antiques of tomorrow."

American Woodworking, 114 S. Third St., is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. The Web site, www.coolcustomfurniture.com offers a complete listing of products and features.