Specialty Commissions
Here's a look at some projects people have come up with on their own, and we made real! If enough demand is called for, these items might get their own listings. And who knows: maybe YOU'LL be behind the idea of the next great product idea!
Arista's Engagement Box
Hannah had a challenge ahead of her: surprising her soon-to-be fiancé Arista with a proposal. While actually surprising Arista would be a challenge indeed, one thing Hannah had in the bag was STYLE! She designed this gorgeous custom ring box to hold Arista's grandmother's heirloom engagement ring. How much more romantic can you get?! The box was made out of Sapele Mahogany, cut into a hexagon. It was sanded to create perfect, smooth sides, then carved in the middle for the ring to sit. At the drill press, 6 holes were drilled in from the top, were small magnets were inserted and sealed with black resin; this served a dual purpose of minimalistic functionality and style. Let me tell ya: there's nothing like the satisfaction of things literally clicking into place perfectly! On the lid, a custom design was burned with their names and wedding date, finished off with a coat of natural beeswax finish, bringing out that gorgeous grain. Hannah then filled the box with beautiful purple flowers and that precious ring, and popped the question on the city skyline! Can you say PERFECT?!
Sierra's Bath Table
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We took this scrap piece of wood that we destined for the trash and transformed it into a bath table using epoxy resin! Believed to be Cherry, with a natural purple mark on it, Sierra played into that by choosing Volcanic Black and Wild Plum to dye ProMarine Supply's Table Top Epoxy, and we swirled them together to create "sexy lava". We filled the crevice that already existed, and then created a rig that would extend the size of the board to the size of Sierra's tub. Resin handles were made to achieve that length. After the resin cured, it was passed through the planer for even thickness, and sides were squared on the table saw. Two different sized forstner bits were used in the drill press to create candle holders on one side, while a cove bit in the router created this indent on the other to hold items. The middle space was left vacant with more than enough room for her iPad mini and crime shows! It was then sealed with SEVEN coats of water proof satin polyurethane to protect from the humidity of a room like the bathroom.
Now it's ready for all the relaxing baths of a lifetime!
The Great Lakes Wall Hanging
My sister, Hannah, is an International Fisheries Science Specialist for NOAA and a 2020 Knauss Fellow. Basically: she's a big deal! Hannah studied Animal Science in college, and got her Master's in Natural Resources, focusing on aquatic ecology and watershed sciences. She says "I studied a group of prey fish important to the Great Lakes (Ciscoes) and through my masters and my work with USGS after my masters I worked on two of the 5 Great Lakes. The fish, beautiful nature, and the people won me over so I wanted something to remember this important part of my life and my career." If you ever wanted to talk about the cisco fish, she is your gal!
To capture the Great Lakes, the silhouette was carved into maple plywood on a scroll saw. It was then backed by another piece of plywood, and stained in the shade Provincial. Resin was poured in to the shape with a swirl of Sapphire Blue and French Blue. Finally, it was sealed with 3 coats of a gloss finish polyurethane.
Dungeons & Dragons Dice Tray
This custom D&D Dice Tray was made for Caroline's partner, Damien, as an anniversary gift. This was so fun, and taught me so much: 95% of this project ended up being totally hand carved! Because of this, angles aren't perfect, sides don't match, and at first I admit I was bummed. But as the piece came together, it brought SO much mystical charm, making the tray really capture the fantastical aspects of the game. Also, the practice of honing my hand carving skills took a big upswing, especially while navigating that realm with my disability. All in all, I'm so thankful for this project, what it means, and how it came out! Now let's deep dive:
Damien's tray is made out of two different woods: Black Walnut as the base and lid, and Zebrawood as the top layer. The tray acts as a dice ring on one half, and a small storage box on the other half. The storage box was gutted out deep into the Black Walnut to make even more room, and then lined with cork to reduce noise. The hardware is brass. To give it a personal touch, Caroline designed the lid, which was then burned. It was finished with ~4 coats of a gloss rub-on poly.
Sarah's Memory Chest
When Sarah came to me looking for a memory box, I knew instantly the cedar was what she needed. Cedar Chests have been used for hundreds of years to hold precious items, and for good reason: cedar wood is incredibly durable, beautiful, and aromatic, while also repelling things like moths and fungus due to the oil cedar naturally emits. Another big pro? Many cedars come from controlled forest areas, which makes it sustainable, too!
Off the bat, we knew it needed to be big: this chest is about 22inx12.5inx10in. The cedar, which is Aromatic Red Cedar, which has this beautiful purple-red color and AMAZING smell, was milled on the jointer and planer, and then made into the appropriate length boards. Rabbets were cut on the table saw, and then the box was constructed. The lid was then made slightly larger, the give a lip for easy lift up. Sarah obtained a sample of both of her parent's handwriting to customize the box in a very personal way, burning it into the lid. The chest was then sealed with a satin wipe on poly for extra protection while helping the wood keep that natural look. Finally, the lid was attached using cabinet hardware, which was a lovely flare.
KT's Decorative Kitchen Spoon
Katie had what had to be the funniest pitch for a commission I've ever received:
"Ok, hear me out: a four foot spoon"
OF COURSE MY ANSWER WAS YES!
The idea was a four foot spoon sign for their partner KT, as an anniversary gift. Katie sent the mock-up design and we chose all the details from fonts to colors to make it as hilarious as possible while still being SO DOPE and also really beautiful!
The font is Kefa, stained in Denim Blue. The spoon was carved on the scroll saw and stained in Natural. On the side, a secret message was burned in the font Ink Free. A design of a yummy, hot bowl of ramen was also carved on the scroll saw and stained in Denim Blue, and put on the bowl of the spoon. The whole hanging was given a keyhole groove in the back, and then sealed with several goals of a semi-gloss spray poly. It was then ready to hang in the kitchen as the best anniversary gift ever!
Matt's Keyboard Stand
Matt had a vision and the materials. He needed a stand for his keyboard and accessories, and he had JUST the wood for it: 5 panels of pine from an old bed. Matt sketched out the look, knowing it would sit on an X-stand, and had the measurements to fit each section already calculated out. With all this prep, he made the project easy! I started with milling the pine boards, giving them a new surface and jointed edges. During the milling process, we knocked out a couple knots, which gave the idea for some cool, see-through resin hole accents. Then, the bases were glued up and trued. They were stained in the shade Dark Walnut for a beautiful rustic, look! The resin holes were poured and cured, then the whole project was sealed with several coats of a gloss polyurethane. For the posts, we chose some sturdy 8in steel pipes, give the rustic look an industrial touch. The posts were put in, completing the project, which now sits in Matt's studio looking absolutely gorgeous with all of his equipment!
Jocelyn's Display Board
Jocelyn does incredible work on Instagram, where she cooks delicious food and talks about body positivity! Her content constantly makes me think and warms my heart, and clearly, others are feeling the same way! Jocelyn is making MOVES to up her game, with awesome new equipment and practices to help her important content reach people. One thing that was a must? A beautiful display board to show off her show-stopping food! Jocelyn had a really specific vibe she was aiming for, and through a great session of kicking around ideas and woods to achieve it, we landed on something simple and classy, using a CRAZY fun technique!
Jocelyn picked out Black Walnut, and landed on a palette board design with a twist: rough edges, not perfectly square or straight ends, very organic. We wanted to give it even more of a cottage, woodsy vibe by roughing up the wood even more: with a TORCH! we burned the whole front side and let the flame do all the work, giving unique and raw patterns to the nearly pure wood. The back side was left unburned incase a more uniform walnut was ever desire. To finish it off and make it display ready, it was sealed with a matte finish polyurethane.
Want to see Jocelyn's creations?! Go follow @joceeats on Instagram!
Skyla's Bath Table
Skyla's husband commissioned this bath table for Christmas! Using her favorite color, maroon, we did a semi opaque resin pour on a live edge side of Pine. Loose bark was removed, but enough was left to still keep the live-edge look. A pouring jig was made out of melamine, and the resin was poured on the side of the bark. After it was cured, the board was trued up, then given rounded corners. Several coats of shellac sealed the board, making it ready for tub use! Here's to many relaxing baths for Skyla!
