Giving new life to old furniture, On the Edge opens in Tarentum

Upscale furniture on a shoestring budget is the motto of Tarentum’s new custom furniture store, On the Edge.

“No matter who you are or what your background is, you can walk in and afford one of my pieces,” owner Tim Emery said.

“My furniture is cool and edgy and for everyone, not just for people with money.”

A native of Upstate New York, Emery, 38, is a chef who moved to area in 2019 to open Infuzed Bistro in Brackenridge. There, he created a menu with the same idea — to offer five-star food that the average person can afford, he said.

Years ago, he put his cooking career on the back burner long enough to attend Broome Community College, just north of Binghamton, N.Y., and earn a luthier degree, making him a certified guitar maker.

From there, he began tinkering in custom furniture rehab and found that it ignited another passion.

“I think it comes from being a kid and being interested in a lot of different things,” he said. “I like to take pieces and reimagine them into something better.”

Opened two weeks ago, his storefront at 408 Corbet St. is filled with refurbished tables, chests and other décor that would have landed in the trash had Emery not given them new life.

He specializes in “live edge” furniture, a process that maintains the rustic look of raw wood.

“My showroom is full of ‘Why nots,’ ” he said. “If you think of something, I can try to make it.”

Nothing sells for more than $100.

A refinished 60-year-old oak ottoman sells for $35, a cherry chest for $65. An aged, green trunk will be transformed into a custom whiskey bar and priced at $80.

In an effort to showcase local artists, Emery co-ops some of his storefront space for others’ work. For $50 a month, artists can rent a small space to show their items.

Emery chose Tarentum for his startup, he said, because fellow borough business owners from the Manos Gallery and the skateboard shop Dry Bones opened his eyes to the town’s potential.

“Tarentum needs more culture, but in a way that makes it inviting to all kinds of people,” Emery said. “They’re doing that here. We want to help make it great and interesting without destroying its history.”

To that end, he has left the storefront of On the Edge largely untouched.

The building was formerly Harrison’s Men’s Wear, a well-known haberdasher that operated more than 80 years. It was one of the lone holdouts from the borough’s heyday before closing in 2006.

Anyone who remembers the red geometric carpet and white pendant lights from Harrison’s will find them intact at Emery’s store. An original glass case is filled with a menagerie of fabric swatches, shoe forms and other items left behind by the former owners.

A chest-high tailor’s table in the basement was refinished into a sofa table, preserving its vintage look, filled with knife scratches and burn marks.

“It’s an amazing piece,” he said. “Years’ worth of their work is exposed.”

Another tailor’s workstation was made into a coffee bar with a rack for Keurig pods.

Tarentum Council President Scott Dadowski couldn’t be happier with the onslaught of new businesses filling vacant spots in town.

“To think of where we were three years ago to where we are now, it’s fantastic,” he said.

As more stores open, existing businesses are taking notice and making moves to upgrade their spots too, Dadowski said.

“We’re filling and renovating,” he said. “And we have the Tarentum Night Markets that draw hundreds of people to highlight it all. This was our goal, and to say it’s wonderful is an understatement.”

On the Edge is open 2 to 10 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays.