Welcome to Wickwood: Our New Website is Live

Welcome to the first Shop Talk post and the launch of the new Wickwood Handcrafts website!

The Origins of Wickwood

For most of my life, woodworking has been something personal.

I did not begin making things with the intention of starting a business, building a product line, or marketing my work to the public. I worked with wood because I enjoyed the process. Shop time gave me a place to slow down, solve problems, work with my hands, and create something tangible.

Most of what I made was for my own use or was given to family and friends. A handmade piece has always felt like more than an object to me. It carries the time, attention, thought, and imperfections of the person who made it. Giving those pieces to people I cared about was part of the reward.

Why Wickwood, and Why Now

For many years, I was reluctant to take woodworking beyond something personal.

I worried that turning something I loved into a vocation might change my relationship with it. There is a difference between walking into the shop because you are inspired and walking into the shop because you have to meet a production schedule. I never wanted the work to become mechanical or to lose the satisfaction that first drew me to it.

Over time, however, my thinking began to evolve. I started to see that sharing the work did not have to diminish the enjoyment. It could add another dimension to it.

I still do not want Wickwood Handcrafts to become a factory or a place where quantity matters more than the work itself. The goal is not simply to produce more. It is to continue making pieces with care while allowing more people to discover, appreciate, and enjoy them.

Sharing the Work

There is a particular kind of satisfaction that comes from having a complete stranger see something you made, connect with it, and decide that it belongs in their home.

It is one thing for a family member to appreciate a handmade gift. It is something entirely different when someone who does not know you is willing to pay for a piece simply because they value the design, the material, and the work that went into it.

That realization helped lead me to create Wickwood Handcrafts.

The name Wickwood is a tribute to my father, Wilton, who was known as Wick. He influenced my appreciation for craftsmanship, resourcefulness, and the value of making things well. Wickwood gives me a way to carry some of that forward while sharing work that, until now, was mostly created quietly and given away.

What You Will Find Here

This website is the next step in that journey.

Here you will find a growing inventory of available pieces, information about the woods, finishes, and materials I use, and details about custom orders. The inventory will continue to change as new pieces are completed, and custom requests are accepted and welcome.

Shop Talk will be where I share more of what happens behind the finished work. That may include current projects, tools, techniques, materials, mistakes, lessons learned, and some of the thought that goes into deciding what a piece should become.

The Journey Continues

Wickwood is still built around the same reason I first entered the shop: the satisfaction of making something useful, interesting, and lasting.

The only real difference is that I am now inviting more people to be part of the journey.