Leaning over the surface of a square table, Peter Winter carefully measured out a small wooden twig before cutting it and placing it on the table, forming a mosaic pattern with other twigs.

Winter, a furniture artist, was working in his Gloversville studio on his latest piece, a wooden table with small twigs in a pattern around the outside and an oval-shaped solid wood piece in the middle.

Large branches that Winter said would soon become the table’s legs sat on a nearby workbench. Once finished, Winter expects to sell the 4-foot-by-2-foot Adirondack-style table for $1,400.

The 39-year-old city resident has been crafting furniture out of area wood since he was 24. He said he has made several thousand pieces, all one-of-a-kind.

“It’s supposed to be something that really stands apart in the finest Adirondack style,” he said. “This style furniture fits well in a camp.”

Winter sells his items to local collectors as well as galleries. His items are made mostly out of local birch, cedar and maple trees. He also uses other materials, such as marble and glass.

His 52 N. Main St. studio is the former Beacon Warehouse, a local clothing store.

Susan Casey moved her clothing store across the street about 21⁄2 years ago and has been renting 52 N. Main St. to Winter for the past year and a half.

Casey said she moved because her insurance policy required the first floor of 53 N. Main St. to be occupied for her to be able to put apartments in the second floor.

She said she wasn’t seeking a tenant at 52 N. Main St. when Winter came along last year, but she was happy to let him move in.

“He came by looking for space, so I figured, ‘Why not?’ ” Casey said. “I don’t have any schedule.”

Future uses

“Eventually I want to re-do the building,” she added. “We’re up in the air if it’s going to be multiple use or office space or just housing.”

Casey said she recently purchased a semicircular table from Winter for her home.

“His stuff is beautiful; he’s so talented,” she said. “He just keeps coming up with creative ideas.”

Winter said Casey has been very supportive of his artwork.

“Susan was very influential for me to come to Gloversville,” he said. “She’s really trying to promote art in the area.”

A typical piece takes Winter about a week to put together. He said he can’t rush the creative process of coming up with a unique item every time.

“I found true happiness in creating these pieces out of nature because I’m working with what God made,” he said. “God is definitely the greatest artist in the universe.”

One finished item at Winter’s workshop is an octagon-shaped table. The outside of the surface is made of wood and the inside of marble. The legs are a tangled group of thick tree branches.

“You’ve got to really know how to put stuff together,” Winter said. “When someone comes and picks something up and they can’t stop looking at it, that’s great.”

Winter plays guitar in a local band and said he makes just enough money from selling his furniture to pay his rent and play his guitar.

Within the next few years, he hopes to open a showroom in Gloversville for people to walk in and see his pieces. (His current location is a studio, not a retail shop.) He is also working on a Web site and sells items on Internet auctions.

One of his items available Tuesday on www.ebay.com was an Adirondack-style coat rack made of tree branch segments. It had an opening bid of $75.

“As an artist, it’s very difficult to be a business,” Winter said. “There’s absolutely no security in this business.”