As you stroll along Front Street in historic Natchitoches, you will see handmade cypress furniture with a distinct Louisiana style displayed in an open carriageway. It is deeply intertwined in the story of Louisiana and Natchitoches. Several blocks away is where the actual magic happens, wood is sawed, lathes turn, sawdust flies, and beautiful furniture is made. George M. Olivier III, a master craftsman and artist, opened Olivier’s Fine Cypress Furniture in Natchitoches in 1965. George died October 30, 2017, on his 78th birthday. Today his daughter Chalon Ahbol continues the family business with traditions passed down from her father to create furniture exclusively from cypress.
