Our Process
Quality is one of our core principles, and we're pretty particular about it.
We salvage and reclaim lumber
It feels awesome to run an old, rotten-looking piece of lumber through the drum sander and reveal its long-forgotten beauty. That's a main reason why a majority of our products are crafted from salvaged, reclaimed, and repurposed natural materials. Whether it's a peanut butter jar, an old piece of hardwood left outside at the lumber yard, or a tree that was downed by a hurricane, we believe in reusing as much as we possibly can.
We only source premium (and often local) materials
We use genuine domestic and exotic hardwoods, non-VOC commercial grade epoxy resin, premium plant-based finishes, and other top-shelf ingredients. Great materials speak for themselves, we're just here to introduce them. Franky, we're sick of seeing sloppily stained framing lumber and cheap veneers all over other websites (cough.. Etsy... cough) but we'll save that fight for another time.
We do basically everything by hand (even things robots usually do)
Maybe we're old-fashioned and sick of being surrounded by screens 24/7, but we do things by hand that other companies outsource to robots. We love big machines and power tools, and we couldn't do this without them, but each step is guided by sore hands and sharp eyes. Making our product by hand allows us complete control over each step, facilitates improvisation, and creates a stronger connection to our work.
We mix and pour and spill a bunch of epoxy (and it's always tricky)
Honestly, epoxy resin isn't fun to work with and anybody who tells you they don't get frustrated by it.. well, they're a saint or a liar. That said, it's worth it. We use the best, non-VOC epoxy resin we can get our (often sticky) hands on, and we dote over it for three days as it cures. Popping a piece from a mold is just as exciting and nerve wracking as it sounds, and yes we've chipped a few products in the process.
We spend a lot (like a whole lot) of time making things flat.
Trees don't come out of the box straight and square, but boy do we wish they did sometimes. We obsessively sand, plane, and square every piece to ensure strong glue-ups and seamless joinery. Whichever knife holder you make yours, you can bet on the fact that we've held it up and squinted at it with a weird face several times to make sure it's perfectly straight. Flat surfaces and clean cuts don't just look better, they're much stronger.
And just as much time (maybe even more) making things smooth
There's something extra special about silky-smooth wood and a beautifully finished grain pattern, and it still makes our hearts flutter a bit. We hand sand every piece to a fine finish with a progression of sandpaper grits, then buff each piece with a plant-based (and surprisingly nice smelling) and durable finish. And yeah, we run our hand slowly over each piece and feel kinda proud of it.