Meet Our Winners

When my (now) wife and I first started dating, she had a Douglas-fir tree fall down on her property. I convinced her to let me haul it out in logs and mill it into lumber. At the time I didn't have a particular project in mind, but knew I could make something cool. I milled the logs into slabs and let them dry properly. A few years later when we found out she was pregnant, I immediately knew that I wanted to build my son's crib  I milled the slabs into boards, planed, sanded, and began assembly. There was enough material to also build a dresser and toy box. I used my dad's garage (and his help) to build this, so it truly was a three-generation project that comes from both sides of our families. I built the crib to be able to disassemble — good thing because it is HEAVY! I made sure that the front and back were sized for a queen bed, so the front and back are now the headboard and footboard for his 'big kid' bed. It is certainly sturdy with its 6x6 legs and all solid wood, but it kept him in and I hope it will be passed down for generations to come!  My son's name is Sawyer, and he already has a strong affinity for woodworking. 

My wife said if I wanted a stand up bass to play bluegrass with my friends I would have to build one. Challenge accepted and met! Ten months to build.

The mahogany wood for the project came from a friend's barn in West Virginia. The wood was removed from a bank building that was torn down in 1930! So it is believe that the mahogany used for the bass is at least 120 years old!

My absolute favorite DIY of all time has been designing this one-of-a-kind mobile beverage trailer. It started as a 16' flatbed, and I custom-built it with inspiration from a vintage camper.  The system features six tap handles, making it the perfect way to serve draft beer, wine, and even mixed cocktails at just about any event you can dream up! 

I set out to build this dream after realizing the market gap when it came to serving drinks outside a typical bar setting in an environmentally friendly way. Focused on minimizing waste, this trailer utilizes large-format beverage options and reusable drinkware. I currently service private events, corporate functions, and festivals. It has been nothing short of incredible to see a thought I had turn into something that blows people away!

These were built using a router, sander, table saw but mostly hand cut with a jig saw. I created a jig to help make each piece as accurate to one another as possible. This was a project I did with my son which was very rewarding!! He did a lot of the sanding while I cut and shaped each piece. The red cedar that was used was harvested locally to me and is how I developed my motto of “forest to furniture.” I also used a Tennessee cedar accent piece on the very front seat support.

Woodworking is my passion and takes the stress from my normal job away. These chairs were built for a friend of mine for his lakefront relaxation spot. He sits in them every day that he can to destress. Hearing how much they enjoy them makes it worth every bit of effort. I estimate I have about 15 hours into each chair. I'm in the process of making a rocker version for my niece and eventually a love seat version as well. I also use the set I made for myself to sit next to my fire table I built to relax and recover from the long hours I put in at work. That's actually the reason the original Adirondack chair was built: for patients that were recovering from illness (TB I believe). The patients would sit outside in the mountains and, because they were so comfortable, they could sit in them longer, which was thought to be a tremendous aid in recovery.  I thank you very much for this opportunity! I take huge pride in my projects and this makes me feel very honored just to be in this competition!