Our Story
Kim started as a carpenter building houses that led to building furniture and cabinets in 1979. The desire of starting his own business with Karen boomed and Harbaugh Wood Specialties was born in 1982. For the next 20 years every kitchen was designed, crafted, constructed, and installed by Kim and Karen. This became a family affair with the help of their four daughters to sand and stain the work (as one of his daughter’s writing this I wanted to make sure we get credit too ;-). As life grew busy Kim and Karen decided to work with an Iowa company, Bertch, out of Waterloo. Bertch brought opportunities and growth but Kim and Karen were missing their custom work…until now. In addition to cabinets, 2017 they started, Beyond the Bark, where their creativity, design, and skills have been sharpened even more. Getting back to the true beauty of Mother Nature and what it can be produced both in a cabinet and specialty item. 2019 brings even more excitement with daughter, Apryl and her husband, Ron, moving back to Iowa to join the team. The combination of getting back to their roots of Iowa and working with the beauty that Mother Nature has given us both in cabinets and specialty products, Native Iowa has been born. With open and grateful hearts we welcome you to something that has been a dream of ours! With a lot of determination, enthusiasm, and a giant leap of faith we have started something great and look forward to sharing it with you! We believe you will fall in love with what Native Iowa has to offer you as much as we have! Thank you for taking the time to check out Native Iowa!
Bless you and your home,
Apryl Mortenson w/Native Iowa
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“Tree planting can be as much work as you make it. For the most part, you can just let the ground sit idle. Mother Nature has a way of reclaiming it.” -Kim Harbaugh
Meet your Native Iowa Team
Kim Harbaugh; Cabinet Designer, Specialty Fabricator, Installer, Owner
Kim’s love for the great outdoors began as a young boy in Boy Scouts, camping, fishing, hunting, and exploring the woods. “The outdoors has always been an important part of my life, and since marriage and children, I’ve made it a part of their lives as well.” says Kim. This has influenced his design of allowing the wood tell a story. From the layout of a kitchen where people gather to make those precious memories to the beautiful bowl sitting on that kitchen counter that tells another beautiful life story. His passion is to create a story beyond the bark that is as unique and individual as you are.
Karen Harbaugh; Specialty Designer, Owner
Karen can be most known for her hard working skills, attention to detail, and being a loving nana. Hard labor was learned from a young age growing up on a farm and all the chores that come with it. She is the nana who wears many hats and each hat she wears incredibly well. From working any task that is put her way, completing each detail to ensure the job is done at the highest level of standard, to making sure all kids and 9 grand-kids are happy, healthy, and fed. In addition to her love of running like Forest Gump she enjoys filling her past time with wood burning designs on specialty items to create a one of a kind product specific to a customer’s liking.
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Ron Mortenson; Construction, Installer, Co-Owner
Apryl Mortenson; Designer & Graphics, Photographer, Co-Owner
Ron originally from Cherokee, Iowa and Apryl from Manchester were introduced through a mutual friend. Sparks didn’t fly until a challenge was set and after a week of riding our bicycles across the state of Iowa in Ragbrai we knew we had found something special. Fast forward to us getting married in 2010 with our first rental renovation, followed by a purchase of our first home. We soon learned location is vital in the big state of Texas and moved into a foreclosure to improve drive time and convenience. This is where our BIG renovation took place where loads of lessons and headaches were learned about life. Our titles changed to mommy and daddy and the love for renovating and bringing life back into a house began. A move to Alabama brought on another big renovation and another two feet added to our family.
Ron and I have always been intrigued by my parents cabinet business and we saw a lot of possibilities for us. Ron loves learning and has become quite the carpenter through our years of remodeling. His desire to create and have something he can call his own has always been a passion of his. If there is a challenge you will find Ron, but right next to him there will be Apryl. Always up for the challenge and determined to find a way is Apryl’s way of life. She can punch a crazy schedule with kiddos, working house remodel, running, yogi-ing, and having some fun kitchen dance parties all with a smile on her face. She loves her kiddos with her entire heart and is head over heels for her Ronnie. She is a workhorse that is constantly looking for new ideas and designs for our next project…just like her mom and dad.
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We look forward to meeting you and helping in making your house your home!!
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Blessings,
Your Native Iowa Team