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owner would have some Middle and upperâ€"midâ€" though... Ra‘;'nseyer still formal training in either _ dle class shoppers are most plans to keep his hands woodworking or business. _ likely to stop by, he said, dirty. Jerry Ramseyer star Not Ramseyer. adding he has been altering Designing and manufacâ€" _ versity Avenue East For the most part, he‘s a _ his target market in recent turing his furniture is one of selfâ€"made man, drawing on _ years. his loves. am ams It seems natural to assume a successful store owner would have some formal training in either woodworking or business. Not Ramseyer. Ramseyer then purâ€" chased the store from his parents when they retired nine years ago. His parents purchased the business from the Gibâ€" sons in 1986, and almost immediately moved the store from its Reginaâ€"Street location to its current home at 140 University Ave. E. "I worked here when I was a kid," Ramseyer said, noting the store was foundâ€" ed in 1981. But inside those dusty clothes, in fact, is the owner of Gibson‘s Home Furnishâ€" ings; a man who‘s happy to be celebrating his store‘s 25th year of providing cusâ€" tom furniture in Waterloo. merging from his Eworkshop covered in sawdust, it seems hard to picture Jerry Ramseyer as the proprietor of a fine furâ€" niture shop. ‘Selfâ€"made "It‘s very rewarding," he ustom furniture maker celebrates his store‘s 25th year in Waterloo By Tim Mureny For the Chronicle Since the Internet as it stands today is not regulatâ€" ed, it "opens up the airâ€" waves" of television so to speak, allowing not only Internet television proâ€" vides video on demand, similar to those offered by cable and satellite television companies except the video comes through your Interâ€" net connection and must be played on your computer. hannel surfing is takâ€" ‘ ing a new turn these days with the advent of a couple new Internet television platforms. Trying to refrain from calling his work "country style," he said the furniture he carries is more traditionâ€" al, with contemporary feelâ€" ing. In trying to label the style of furniture the store offers, Ramseyer said it difficult to pinpoint since. trends change quickly. A finisher with more than 35 years of experience also works on site with Ramseyer, along with five other partâ€"time employees.‘ < The furniture ranges from full wall units to beds, shelves and smaller pieces. He‘s used that knowledge to design a wide selection of the custom wood furniture he sells, in his workshop at the back of the store. And what he doesn‘t design or build is manufacâ€" tured by one of a few small custom shops in Ontario. experience from his parâ€" ents. Design is the only area of the business he has some formal education in, having studied architecture at Sheridan College. 29080 King St. E., Kitchener * 893â€"2911 + www.char A Tour Through FEBRUARY 20 â€" APRIL 3 bration of three distinctive Italian regions: Romagna, Sicily & Palermo BUSINESS Based out of Worcester, Mass., the foundation has been funded by the Rappaâ€" port Family Foundation and Mitch Kapor‘s Open Source Applications Foundation. One is called "Democraâ€" cy TV" from the nonâ€"profit Participatory Culture Founâ€" dation (PCF). viewing but easy submisâ€" sion of your own shows and creation of your own chanâ€" nels. _. There are a few Internet TV platforms currently in beta test. One thing is certain though... Ramseyer still plans to keep his hands dirty. "I honestly have no big plans for expansion," he said. As for the future, Ramâ€" seyer hasn‘t looked too far ahead. "We‘re not formal, we‘re not fussy," he said in describing the casual furniâ€" ture. Ramseyer doesn‘t want his store to be lumped in with every other traditional pine and oak furnishing operation. "I don‘t think we‘ve changed enough that we‘re alienating our old market," he said. That‘s when he decided to expand his focus and offer more modern furnishâ€" ings that appeal to the younger crowds. Before changing styles, the customer base was genâ€" erally made up by an older crowd looking for countryâ€" type piecesâ€"a fact Ramseyer believes limited his store‘s potential. "We don‘t cater to the ultraâ€"highâ€"end clientele, or the average joe," he said. Mitch is the founder of The software for this proâ€" ject is free to download and run on your PC or Macinâ€" tosh. You can also get the source code which allows you to see how the program works (or doesn‘t work), make improvements and contribute to the project. Some of the contributors to this project have their roots in the activist group "Downhill Battle", and as Lotus Development, for anyone who remembers the Lotus 1â€"2â€"3 program in computing‘s history. Jerry Ramseyer stands next to one of the many pieces of custom furniture he sells at his Uniâ€" versity Avenue East store. khouse.ca Internet style I found it interesting to note that the PCF website maifager is from Whitby Ontario and one developer lives in Paris, a testament to the project‘s global nature. They are keen on providâ€" ing a platform for global communication based on open standards, ensuring that anyone can contribute to the platform as well as the video content. such it makes sense when they state on their website "We think it‘s a problem that a small number of corporaâ€" tions control mass media." This ventureâ€"backed company, based in San Diego, Ca., touts itself as providing a "social network" around the shows, where consumers of content can easily communicate with producers. Veoh‘s website notes that it is "unregulated so it is a true FREE SPEECH televiâ€" sion network, politically unbiased and unaffiliated." Another runner in this area is Veoh, an Internet Television Network. Courtesy of Vespa KW Continued on page 16 TIM MURPHY PROTO