Kelly Maxwell is the hands and heart behind Littlebranch Farm. Spending two decades as a full-time paramedic, the Idaho native had always dreamt of one day owning his own farm that overlooked fields of green and cattle - especially after growing up on his grandparents’ land. In 1996, Kelly and his wife, Cathy, bought a scenic 16-acre stretch of land in Georgia at the base of Ross Mountain, where they lived along Littlebranch Creek. In 2001, his farm dreams came true - just differently than he planned.
When his stepdaughter got engaged, she asked Kelly if he would be willing to build her furniture for the ceremony since she had full faith he could execute it beautifully, as he had just finished building the family's new log home. With no formal training or extensive woodworking knowledge, he rolled his sleeves and, with inspiration from a friend, taught himself how to build rustic furniture. While the furniture was crude, it transformed the wedding and gave birth to a new career.
“[Learning how to make] the rustic log became more refined as I moved along,” Kelly shares. “With that, I built many aesthetically nice log beds, bathroom vanities, dressers, and other things. I watched some TV shows on basic cabinet woodworking, but it was all trial and error... there was no YouTube to watch back then.”
Soon after the wedding, while Kelly was working for the Harris County EMS, his boss approached him with an application for a local craft show and said, “Fill this application out, write them a check for $25, and I’ll have you and Cathy a sausage biscuit and coffee for you each day.” Kelly took him up on his offer; Armed with a trailer load of rustic furniture and an old green beach tent, a business was born. Sticking out like a sore thumb among the rows of white tents, he and Cathy were amazed when they sold everything they had available, except two pieces. Before he knew it, his part-time job was showing genuine promise. Spending his free time building rustic furniture, Kelly began taking his finished products to other craft shows - this time, with a white tent - and eventually began displaying his work outside of antique stores in Pine Mountain, Georgia. Later, he branched out and started to sell at major log home shows around the United States, doing thirteen to fourteen shows a year. In 2014, Cathy’s lifelong nursing career led the pair to Music City, where Kelly has continued growing in his craft.
“The Nashville community is a great support... we work with many local commercial and residential projects. We love the energy and the creativity that comes from the community here,” Kelly shares.
While Littlebranch Farm’s studio is located here in Nashville, Kelly and his team ship to places all around the globe, working on everything from whole-house projects to individual pieces. Littlebranch Farm prides itself on its unique, intricate, one-of-a-kind designs. Kelly has received several awards over the years - including Best Of Show and several woodworking and mixed media accolades, most notably from the Western Design Conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. With a talented team of Nashville residents hand-selected by Kelly, he is focused on building a legacy of functional furniture that will last for years to come.
“I really believe in growing the team, pulling out their skillsets and teaching them so it continues to move forward beyond me,” he says. “Instead of it just being me, Littlebranch Farm is a team.”
For more information on Littlebranch Farm, visit littlebranchfarm.com or follow them on socials @littlebranchfarm.
I really believe in growing the team, pulling out their skillsets and teaching them so it continues to move forward beyond me. Instead of it just being me, Littlebranch Farm is a team.