Mar. 29—LOUISA — Joey O’Brian was a wood wizard at an early age.

“My dad (Billy Joe O’Brian) told me, ‘Joey, you’re the only guy I ever saw who I could teach once and you got it,'” Joey O’Brian said from the living room of his home, which is tucked away off of a back road in the Louisa area.

Now called Two Mile Creek, the O’Brians’ residence’s road was previously called Chicken Feather — hence the inspiration behind the name of Joey and Jene O’Brian’s cross-making business.

Since 2010, Joey O’Brian has created about 7,000 crosses.

The retired railroad conductor turned to a higher power 14 years ago to hone in on a wood-based hobby. He was still working full time, as he didn’t wrap up on the railroad until six years ago (after 42 total years), but he was ready for another steady endeavor.

“Years ago, I asked the good Lord, I’m decent with wood … if You find me something to do, I’ll do it,” O’Brian said. “Well, my neighbor came up here and that was it.

“She came up here with an ordinary cross, and it had three big spike nails on it,” O’Brian recalled. “That was my inspiration.”

The genesis

“My dad was a self-taught carpenter and he inspired me,” said the 65-year-old Joey O’Brian. “I fell in love with wood ever since.”

Growing up “out in the country” in the Fort Gay area of West Virginia, a young Joey watched his father bring in cedar shakes from a smokehouse.

“I got the wild idea to put them up in my bedroom on my wall,” O’Brian said with a chuckle. “I must have been 12 or 14 years old.”

Billy Joe O’Brian worked on the railroad for 19 years before getting a job in Mansfield, Ohio. Then he returned to the area and worked for a nickel plant in Burnaugh, Joey said.

“He would do odd jobs remodeling, and he did all his own handy work and building, all that stuff,” said Joey O’Brian, who inherited the natural talent.

Billy Joe passed away in 2020, and Joey’s mother died two years later. He’s happy and honored to help carry on the carpentry legacy.

Joey’s first construction job was for his uncle at age 16.

He’s made furniture, including many pieces in his home. He’s even ventured into jewelry — wood earrings, specifically. He’s built houses, including his own. He, Jane and two children — Lynden and Turner — moved into the residence in 2001.

The house takes on a throwback ambience, immediately noticeable to a keen observer.

“We had somebody knock on our door and ask, ‘is this an old home that you’ve redone?’ That’s the best compliment we could’ve gotten,” Jene O’Brian said. “That’s exactly what we were going for.”

He’s added plenty of personal, creative touches to the home.

“We’re very sentimental, very nostalgic,” Jene O’Brian said.

On Joey’s 50th birthday, his wife and children gave him money to put toward the construction of his workshop.

The bright white building, which is immaculate for a woodworking space, has the appearance of a barn blended with a small country church.

A sign declaring “Poppaw’s Workshop” greets one at the door. The O’Brians’ three grandchildren gifted it to Poppaw for Christmas in 2023.

Joey O’Brian spends about four or five hours a day in the workshop.

“I used to spend eight to 10, but my back can’t take it anymore,” he said.

The gift

The O’Brians launched Chicken Feather Woods in 2012.

Numerous cross creations are displayed throughout the O’Brians’ home.

“This is Alpha,” Joey O’Brian pointed out his first cross. “It’s the very first one I turned out. No penciling, no nothing.”

Scripture, a number and a handwritten description accompany each cross. Each of them falls within a themed series — of which there are 14.

A couple examples are “Helping Hand Praising Hand,” which includes Psalm 121:2 — “God helps us. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth — and “Humbling,” which comes with James 4:10.

The largest cross stands about 2 feet tall and sits on the living-room mantel.

O’Brian can produce 20-30 crosses a week. They’ve become popular, cherished possessions to commemorate the memory of a loved one at funerals.

He uses two bandsaws in his workshop — one whittles a log down to a workable piece of wood for a cross and the other makes more meticulous cuts for the final product.

“Then I’ll bring it over here and start sanding it,” he said, nodding to his sanding belt.

His favorite type of wood comes from fruit trees, specifically the Bradford Pear.

“They’re easy to work, and the wood’s not hard to sand,” he said. “They have such a smooth texture.”

Pine is the worst wood with which to work, in O’Brian’s opinion.

He said he tries to grab a piece of wood “everywhere we go,” as Jene agreed with a smile.

O’Brain crafts the cross based on the wood’s shape and condition.

“If there’s a knot, I’ll just try to save that on the bottom for a ‘Rebirth.’ On those, the bottom stays natural,” he said. “If there’s a bend in it, I just go with it.”

O’Brian uses a wide variety of finishes including paint, lacquer and satin polyurethane. He works with waxes with hand-rubbed or buffed finishes, too, but much of his work is left natural.

“No two (crosses) are alike,” he said.

One of his favorite crosses is made of walnut. It’s called “Old Rugged,” which reflects a rebirth in Christ.

“You were lost and now you’re saved,” he explained the meaning behind it.

Jene O’Brian keeps a log of every note that goes with each cross.

“That would be the first thing I grab if the house caught on fire,” Joey O’Brian said.

The ‘calling’

Jene O’Brian said they had “no clue” the cross-making would flourish into a thriving business.

“It’s just his calling,” she said. “I really think it’s his calling.”

O’Brian is a member of Kentucky Crafted and the Kentucky Guild of Artists and Craftsmen.

His work is featured at various places throughout Louisa, including Farmhouse Memories.

When away from home, Joey and Jene might be found visiting family, but they also are freed up to travel more often. They recently purchased a permanent camper on Cherokee Lake in Tennessee and head south to Florida from time to time.

“We like our 60s,” Jene said, adding that she chronicles many of their adventures on Instagram (chickenfeatherwoods).

Reach Chicken Feather Woods at (606) 225-6548 or jene.obrian@att.net. Follow Chicken Feather Woods LLC on Facebook.