Home Our Process
Our process
Consult. Design. Build. Deliver. Enjoy.
Five steps, in order, with one hard rule: nothing is cut until you have approved a drawing — and an engraving proof, if the piece carries one.
Consult
We start with a conversation, not a catalog.
- Talk through the room: dimensions, clearances, light, and what the piece has to do all day.
- Set a realistic budget range and a build window before drawings begin.
- Talk about meaning — a verse, a logo, a place on a map — or skip it entirely. Craft first. Meaning optional.
- Nothing is charged and nothing is committed at this stage.
Design
You see the piece before it exists.
- Scaled drawings and 3D views of the actual piece, not a lookalike.
- Wood samples sent to you, finished the way your piece will be finished, so you judge them in your own light.
- A vector engraving proof showing exact layout, type, depth, and fill color.
- Revisions until it is right. Nothing is cut until you sign off.
Build
Selected, milled, joined, and finished by hand.
- Boards chosen off our rack for figure and color, kiln-dried and shop-acclimated to 6–8% moisture.
- Flattened, jointed, and glued up; joinery cut to fit the span and the season.
- CNC carving and inlay done in-house — test cut first, then the real slab.
- Sanded through the grits and finished by hand, with cure time the finish actually needs.
Deliver
It arrives the way it left the shop.
- White-glove delivery, placement, and on-site assembly within our region.
- Custom-crated insured freight nationwide for everything else.
- Sectioned conference tables joined and leveled on site by us where the room requires it.
- Packaging designed for the piece — not a blanket and good intentions.
Enjoy
Support that outlasts the invoice.
- A written care guide specific to your species and finish.
- Repairable finishes wherever the use case allows, so a scratch is an afternoon, not a crisis.
- Refinishing and re-oiling service available for pieces we built.
- Lifetime craftsmanship guarantee on our joinery and construction.
Straight answers
The questions everyone asks.
How long does a piece take?
Most commissions run three to five months from approved drawing to delivery, driven by the design round and by what is dry on the rack. Engraved work adds a proof cycle. If you have a hard date — a dedication, a move-in, an anniversary — say so in the first conversation and we will tell you honestly whether it is possible.
Do you work from my drawings?
Yes. Architects and designers send us specifications regularly, and we build to them. If you are working from a photograph or a sketch instead, that is equally workable — most projects start that way.
Can I see the wood before you build?
Yes, and we would rather you did. We send finished samples in your species so you can judge them in your own light, which is never the light in our shop.
What if I already have a slab?
We will flatten, finish, engrave, or build a base for wood you already own. Bases are also sold on their own.
Do you ship?
Nationwide, custom-crated and insured. Local delivery is white-glove, placed in the room, and we take the crate away with us.
What does the guarantee cover?
Our joinery and construction, for as long as you own the piece. Wood moves and finishes wear — that is not a defect — but a joint we cut should not fail, and if it does we make it right.
What you can count on
The parts we will not shorten.
Design round
Unlimited revisions
Until the drawing is right. The build does not start on a maybe.
Engraving
Cut in-house
Proof, test cut in your species, your approval, then the slab.
After delivery
Lifetime on joinery
Plus a care guide written for your species and finish.
Start a commission
Step one is a conversation.
No charge, no obligation, and no one will call you twice a week afterward.