Featured Artist: Derek, Hand Made Wood Gifts

So, what’s your story? We are a small husband and wife team in southeast Michigan, working out of our garage part time. We are hoping that our hobby can grow into something bigger!

How did you get started creating your artwork? Wood working, in some form or another, goes back 3 generations in my family, so I have always been familiar with it. My personal passion for wood working came from watching David Marks on his show “Wood Works” on the DIY Network. I began to do more work with wood and started reading wood working forums. These forums can be a wealth of knowledge regarding design and technique input.

Where does your inspiration come from? Inspiration comes from living in the world around us. Almost everyday I see something that will trigger an idea for a new product to make or a design to try.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? In 5 years we hope to have established a good repeat list of customers as well as expanded our products to include jewelry and keepsake boxes, pepper mills, and other small useful wood working items. We have already started on this path but are moving slowly to stay out of debt and focus on our customers.

Where do you sell your work? We sell our work on our website and we also recently opened a shop on Etsy. Also we are currently in a Christian book store in Brighton Michigan and are looking to expand to other stores. And even though it isn’t the best venue for high quality handmade items, we might also list some things on Ebay for additional exposure.

Who is your favorite artist? David Marks, because he was our inspiration to start working with exotic woods. And working with exotic woods, has brought us to this point.

What is your favorite song and by whom? Depends on my mood.

If you were stranded on a deserted island, with your family, what 5 things would you bring with you? I think the bigger question is: If I knew that I needed to bring things to be stranded on an island, why would I go? But if I do need to pick, I would like a nice 40 foot boat, fishing gear, fresh water, a hammock and some wood working magazines.

Why do you think people should buy handmade? When you buy handmade you are buying a little piece of a real persons design and care, a product that has thought and pride backing it.

Is there anything else you would like to share? In the spirit of Dave Ramsey and financial security, we are growing without debt. We would rather worry about quality products and not treat our customers like dollar signs. However, this approach will take longer than some others. So the faster we generate sales, the faster we will be able to expand our product lines and have more to offer our customers. We plan on adding more wine stoppers, salt and pepper mills, as well as some other items like exotic wood boxes and crosses. Help us grow!