We had the good fortune of connecting with ianthus Barlow and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi ianthus, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?

By the age of 23, I have had many different jobs in a wide range of trades from concrete, framing houses, and remodeling to working at Target, Godfather’s Pizza and Downeast Furniture. After all that time and working in all these different fields, it finally dawned on me that I can climb much further and learn much more if I started my own business.
When I was 24, I started my first business in remodeling with two high school friends. I learned from that and soon found my passion for handcrafting high-end furniture. I would end up doing woodwork in my 10×20 garage after spending 12 hours remodeling houses. I would often lose track of time and end up getting 3 hours of sleep some nights. I enjoyed taking an abandoned tree that has given to us its entire life cleaning the air we breath and working it back to life as a timeless piece of furniture that will live on for generations.
Being a business owner is much more than just working for yourself, it’s being a leader and leading by example.  After working for so many types of bosses and leaders, I have a better understanding on how to encourage my team and show them how to do things correctly instead of letting them mess up and getting after them for it. I am the type of leader that isn’t afraid to get in the trenches with my team, digging in and teaching and collaborating as we go along.
I’m from an awesome small town called Colorado City.  It is up north and borders Utah.   Currently, there are so many great people volunteering to build it up. I strive to follow their example by engaging in all the local fundraisers and events.  I always donate to our local first responders and any others that invite us to help. I enjoy bringing jobs to the local community and encouraging people to exercise their artistic side in any and all ways. We spend so much of our lives at work, I feel like we should be able to have a happy work experience and enjoy showing up everyday. I always want my employees to know that I wouldn’t ask them to do anything that I haven’t already done myself and would do again.
At IB Woodworks, we build furniture with the best quality parts on the market. It seems the passion for original quality furniture has diminished with the fast produced particle board furniture you see in most of today’s market. We are bringing back the attention to detail and quality of the furniture we produce. Our motto is always quality over quantity. We would rather spend more time making a piece perfect than pumping it out just to make fast money. The only place particle boards have in our shop is the surfaces that the thousand dollar, one of a kind, beauties slide across as they are worked into their new form.
It isn’t fast getting a perfect piece of art so we spend 3-12 months on our builds to make sure they will be perfect for generations to come. If you want or need a special, custom handcrafted piece of furniture made by hands of the best craftsmen in the business, then please come visit us at: 15 N Central ST. Suite C Colorado City, AZ 86021 and see and feel the quality of the pieces.  Customization is available on almost every piece we craft.


Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?

I started off not considering myself an artist, it wasn’t until recently that I have come to consider myself an artist.  I have always created original,  out-of-the box projects, but soon found I had to fall in the trend of making things that sell. But even in doing that, I still like to throw a twist in to make it different than what else is out there. I’m always looking for the next thing that no one else is doing and try to work it into my art. I am most excited when a client commissions me to make a one of a kind piece that exercises my creativity and keeps me up at night thinking about new ways to make their piece unique.
We have been in business for almost 4 years and it has been a constant battle to help people understand that a quality piece of furniture that costs $6,000 and lasts a lifetime is much better then something that costs $1,500 and lasts 3-5 years.
Being in the furniture industry is cut throat, competing with all the name brand, cheap particle board furniture companies. What worked for me and all the mentors I have had is 100% transparency with clients. Being real and letting them know my concerns about design or material. Build trust and collaborate with the client, really making the piece personal.
I would like the world to know we build the highest quality furniture on the market! If you are tired of buying furniture over and over because it won’t last then give us the opportunity to craft you something that will stand the test of time.


If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

I live in the center of what they call the “Grand Circle,” so there is so much to do. We would start local and get us some local food and brew at edge of the world brewery, then go hike what is known as Water Canyon next to a freshwater stream. After that, we would have to enjoy the AZ strip on the ATVs visiting the hidden springs and Native American petroglyphs along the way. After a ribeye steak dinner and a good night’s sleep we would have to go visit Zion National Park which is a short 60 min drive. We would go have a lake day on Lake Powell and visit the Grand Canyon. There is so much more to see they would have to stay a year to even come close to experiencing it all.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?

I would like to shout out to my first business partners Milos and Jason. That business experience is what gave me the taste for more business and taught me so much about business in general. Love you guys and hope you prosper more than I.
I would like Aunt Kristi and Darrell Arnold to know that I couldn’t have made the leap starting IB Woodowrks without them giving me a free room and food while I remodeled their house and pushed my woodworking business.
Ivory Gorilla Digital Solutions for their flawless designing and marketing of your logo and website www.ibwoodworks.com
Icon Contracting and all their team for trusting us with countless projects and much more to come.
Our local Chamber of Commerce run by Gwen Darger and all the great community building projects she invites us to be a part of.
As well as all the other local businesses working together to keep work here in the community:
Liston Metalworks
Icon Contracting
Brothers Bistro
Berry Knoll Pizza
Edge Of The World Brewery
Small World Drafting
The Border Store
Homespun Health
Short Creek Tattoo
Sweet Sage Coffee
Hildale City
Basic American Supply
Pride Landscape
Nominate Someone: ShoutoutArizona is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.