by Mark McGee

Only God can make a tree, but Frank Eichler and his helpers can make that tree into just about anything
you can imagine.

There is no sign directing visitors to Fallen Tree Designs. Frank simply tells you just past two silos filled with
hay are two buildings which house the workshops where wood magic is made.

There is a gray building which is where the wood becomes whatever a customer wants. In an adjacent white building, the designs are hand finished. In several locations raw boards of sugar maple, cherry, walnut, cedar, poplar or hickory aging wait to become infused naturally with various colors before becoming anything from a cutting board to a coffee table. Wood is aged before it can be prepared. The length of time the boards ages is carefully tracked.

Eichler, who, along with his wife Debbie, once owned Rising Star Ranch. They sold the breeding facility to David Williams who renamed it Sugar Creek Farms. The Eichlers are still active in the Tennessee Walking Horse industry. Frank said he didn’t know much about wood when he began his new venture, but he admits he didn’t know anything about walking horses when he and Debbie bought their first one.

The woodworking began when Frank’s brother Mark retired and moved to Shelbyville. Mark and Frank’s
farm manager, Jeff Sentry, were both avid woodworkers. They invited Frank to be a part of it as well.

“They are magnificent at what they do,” Frank said. “So, I said let’s try it.

“I needed to do something. I am not very good at doing nothing. I am terrible at it.”

It is a family trait. Frank and Mark’s father was a highly decorated Air Force pilot and successful entrepreneur. He was a man who seldom sat down for long.

“We were always doing projects,” Frank said. “For Mom and Dad that was it. You didn’t come home and sit around and do nothing.”

Frank doesn’t call his new hobby a passion. But it is hard to deny he has found something special to do with
his life. He fl ashes a broad smile as he shows off a piece of wood with deep tones of blue, green, gray, rust and brown.

“I like it,” Frank said. “But my passions are God, my wife and my family. This is number four. I like watching my wife show horses too. So, this is probably number five.”

He has learned how wood ages and boards are stacked inside the buildings, strapped to prevent warping and placed under sheds based on their age. Boards ready to become finished products are stored inside. They use no boards before their time.

“I didn’t expect to become a wood expert,” Frank said. “I didn’t know anything about horses either. I was happy being a lawyer and buying and selling companies and making it work.

“When I get into stuff I want to learn about it. With the farm I learned about doing hay. I talked with old farmers. And we grow a bunch of hay, 12,000-to-14,000 bales.”

Chad and Dana Collins own a tree service in Shelbyville. They supply the boards for Fallen Tree Designs.

“They cut down trees and Chad basically stores good trees for one to five years,” Frank said. “They are stored outside.

“A lot of them get fungus and mold in them. But they are not rotted yet. All these colors go through the wood…strong, stunning colors. You plane it down and the beauty comes out. We have been buying all our wood from him. He is just fantastic.”

Frank stresses that the wood they use in their designs is special because of the way Chad handles it.

“You can’t just go out and find this wood,” Frank said.

“It is the wood Chad has that he has cut down. He knows when to cut it. “The coloring is unique. It is just amazing what comes out. I love to see the beauty. That is fun for me.”

Those colors often help Frank, Mark and Jeff to decide what they will build. Will it be something simple like a cheese board or something more elaborate like a cabinet?

“I like finding out what you can do with the wood,”

Frank said. “Here is a piece of wood so what are you going to do? Is it going to be an end table or a coffee table or something else?

“Mark and Jeff basically implement my thoughts. They are great at it. I enjoy that.”

Frank calls himself “a finisher”. He puts clears stains to highlight the colors of the word and the final protective coats on the pieces once they are complete.

In one building among the cheese boards, charcuterie trays and platters is a wall filled with flight boards. It has become an unexpected, but highly popular item.

“I like wine,” Frank said. “My nephews like whiskey. They said, `Uncle Frank we have guys who come over all the time who bring bottles and we have tastings. What about making a flight board?’

“I said, what are you talking about? They showed me what a flight board was. They are popular in a lot of bars. We started making them and people love them.”

A CALMING PLACE

The buildings are a quite refuge in many ways. Frank, an attorney, spent much of his career in mergers and acquisitions for AT&T. It was a job filled with high pressure 24 hours a day.

He admits he misses walking the tight rope of the business.

“I had a passion for it,” Frank said. “When I was with the phone company we bought and sold companies. I did that for almost 10 years. When I was right in the middle of buying and selling companies it was go, go, go. I don’t sleep well to begin with. It never stopped.

“I loved being able to build it, create it and see what it could do. Then we would split it and take it public and sell it. I just loved that stuff . Seeing how words work and keeping track of the language was a passion for me. I would wake up at 2 a.m. and start working on stuff and go to bed at 10 p.m. still writing stuff down.”

Frank retired from the legal profession in 2017, but the adjustment to a quieter and less hectic life was not an easy one for him. At one point Debbie, his wife of 37 years, strongly urged him to return to practicing law.

“It took me over two years to adjust to not being a general counsel,” Frank said. “I had to learn to slow down and not be a lawyer. I am a recovering lawyer.”

The woodworking has helped make the transition an easier one. “It is relaxing,” Frank said. “It gives you lots of time to think. It is helpful. This keeps me off the streets and keeps me out of my wife’s hair.

“It got to be something I have enjoyed. The older I get, when it gets about 40 degrees, I don’t want to be outside anymore, especially when it is windy. I can come in here and goof off .”

Even Debbie has become a part of the woodworking team. Frank, Mark and Jeff usually agree with what a piece of furniture should look like, but Debbie offers a diff erent and sometimes more practical perspective.

“She enjoys that I enjoy it,” Frank said. “She comes down here, looks at a piece and says this doesn’t look right. She always gives us her input. She will say you are missing this or that. She is right most of the time.

“I will actually call her and ask her to come down and have her look at something. She looks at it like what is going to look good in a home. I just look at it as a nice piece of wood.”

BUSINESS IS BOOMING

There may be no signs promoting the business, but based on the amount of activity in the shops, fans of the wood creations being produced are having no problems finding Eichler.

Like many people, Frank is finding out that what starts out to be a hobby can soon become a business.

He credits many friends for their help in promoting Fallen Tree Design products. Carissa and Tad Craig of Craig and Wheeler Realty and Auction Company are frequent visitors and customers.

“Tad will come in and buy some boards,” Frank said. “Carissa will come in and say make this or this for family or customers.”

Sheela “Mike” Cheatham and her late husband Steve were in the horse business. Mike and her sister, Lisa Pardon, own Colt Show Antiques in Petersburg, Tennessee.

“It is not our brick-and-mortar store, but it is acting that way,” Frank said. “We take products down to her and she sells for us. She will call and say `we need two more end tables. We have sold what we have’. Whatever we bring to her doesn’t last long.

“It is good to get feedback on what people really like. Mike knows what is going to sell in her shop. To get immediate feedback is just phenomenal and very helpful.”

Frank wants to talk with Uncle Nearest Distillery about producing flight boards. They will be able to place the brand on the boards. They have produced branded items for Craig and Wheeler, Colt Show Antiques and their Fallen Tree Design. Word has also quickly spread through the walking horse industry of the works created at Fallen Tree Design.

“We have a lot of people from the industry who ask can I come see your boards and buy something for Christmas or a birthday? It is unique stuff.”