What is Little Boise Woodshop?
Little Boise Woodshop is a small woodshop dedicated to building high-quality, handmade wood products for home and kitchen, or shop and office. Whether I am building a simple built-in storage unit or a high-end butcher block, my goal is to keep my products simple, functional and durable.
History of Little Boise Woodshop
The idea for Little Boise Woodshop first started to take hold early in 2015. Up until that point, I’d never really thought of myself as a woodworker, but the previous year my fiancée and I had purchased a small 1940’s house in Boise’s North End, which required me to really beef up on my building skills. After putting a built-in wardrobe in our bedroom, which I enjoyed very much, I decided to challenge myself a bit. We needed more counter space in our tiny kitchen, so I decided to try my hand at a butcher block island. Wanting to further challenge myself, I used three different species of wood and cut them to make an outline of the Boise City skyline and foothills.
I was amazed at how well it worked out. It was beautiful, functional, and I had a really good time building it. I started putting together some more small butcher blocks and cutting board for friends and family, each one better than the last. I desperately wanted to continue with this work but life was put on hold for fire season. This was my fifth season working as a wildland firefighter, this season as a sawyer for the Boise Hotshots. I loved being outside, working with good friends all day, but I didn’t view firefighting as a long-term career for me. It was getting harder and harder to spend 5 months of every year away from home and the people I love. I decided to change things up and pursue woodworking as a career. Whenever I got home from fires I was putting work into our little shed that I was using as a shop, and building whatever I could.In the fall of 2015 when fire season was over I started putting out feelers for work. I did some jobs for local businesses, including a 14’ bar top for some college/firefighting friends who were also starting their own business, Meriwether Cider. The work was extremely rewarding and I hope I can continue with it for many years to come.
