We are trying to get out of the box of our old lives, the work of which we still enjoy and are surrounded by.  Physically surrounded by our past our known success and yet trying to get a foothold in the future, not knowing of course what that is.  Being present is enjoyable but there is a energy to move on out of the comfort zone of this place.  Emotionally, we are already out of here, peeling away from our attachments.  We have not gone anywhere except in our heads.

We did not anticipate to duplicate this experience, but voila!  A week spent on the Osa Pennisula of Costa Rica was a southern tropical window to the above.  Here, it was the silent rhythms of the northern story in the heat of the tropics with monkeys, macaws, pelicans and the people who have gravitated to this paradise.

Both places put us in that spellbound place of being present.  We are thankful.

Blue Osa Costa Rica

Let’s go.

Woodshop / Yoga studio

Everything about how we have done business in the past, will not be applicable to where we are going.  We face a local business climate in Canada, with considerable less resources to spend on our projects and a much simpler approach to design than we are used to.  This is more a decision of rural geography  on our part, and that is where the risk is taken.  We believe that our design aesthetic will transfer  successfully but who knows?

This is nerve-wracking.  It has to be right the first time and the logistics in transport and installation are daunting for a small country woodshop.

This is an interesting world…a traveling client, with his own specific taste.  Pair that with an exacting architect and you have PRESSURE!

That is why this is our last project like this .  We are getting too old for this shit.

In Canada, we look forward to small projects, nearby , and hope that our only distraction is the local moose.

We have learned in this economic downturn that we need less and that less has proven more in rethinking values material and personal.

We are now furniture makers without furniture.  As we approach building pieces for our new Canadian house, we are thinking about subtlety, clean natural lines and playful quirks of geometry.  We hope that people that come to our new house will see something new and unexpected…same people, new vision.  We anticipate a limited choice of woods and cliental where we are moving, but look forward to the challenge of designing within these constraints.

BIG CHAIR

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Dining Room

We barely had enough time to eat and drink during the festive Christmas holidays due to a sudden interest in the selling of our house.  It did indeed sell and we had three weeks to vacate our lives of 15 years.  Making this all possible was the generous offer of a good friend to live in a beautiful farmhouse on their property.This is where we live now, amid the wind, the vistas , grazing horses and fox.

Now that the dust has settled, we are starting to experience the sadness of giving up a house that was ours creatively from beginning to end.  It was our personal masterpiece, which we were fortunate to live in for a long time.  Although our new space is magical, we are looking forward to embracing a blank canvas up north to begin the creative process again.

Although we left reluctantly it was time to go, time for reinvention and very apparent that an opportunity was presenting itself to do just that. We grabbed it.

Business as usual at our old location, at least for a couple of years, while we finish our house project in Canada.

It will take time and thoughtful consideration to imagine our new space, it being so different from the old in terms of size, proportion, light and relationship to nature.  That relationship will be the most exciting thing and one that we have not had in our lives for quite a while.  The farm is providing us with a good transition.

About 20%of our business lately are new customers.

Granted, this is a small segment of the economic engine of the U.S. but we can’t be the only ones that are benefiting from this kind of growth.

Kim’s yoga business which started 6 months ago primarily as one on one private yoga lessons has grown from 1-7plus a week.

So…two diverse small businesses have started to bloom at the same time.

This bodes well.

What the custom woodworker offers is exactly that – customized to your needs in style, finish and function.  For example, a modern entertainment center, styled as a French armoire, finished to look 200 years old…means you need to find a custom woodworker.

Custom is more expensive than buying something off of the shelf, but still offers good value in that the customer gets exactly what they want.

What we offer in design and finish is unique in that there is a conversation literally and figuratively between the customer and the maker.  This personalization or conversation gets lost when these technologies become the one of a kind blueprint for creativity.

Creativity is what we offer as custom craftsmen