A long, long time ago, way back in 2013, I determined that I was no longer going to buy gifts for people. Items purchased off the shelf or off the interweb weren’t doing it for me anymore. Anything I would buy wasn’t quite right. First, the materials weren't always the best. Molded plastic was the typical fare – not the best for anything you want to last a while. Secondly, they were becoming too impersonal for me. This item was the exact same as millions of others. Nothing about it was made specifically or uniquely. When I started considering that this combination of materials and mechanization would be representing how I felt about somebody, I decided that I couldn’t let that happen. Instead, I started making gifts for people.
One of the first gifts I made was for my sister. I brushed the dust off my pens and paintbrushes and illustrated some animals on watercolor – a pelican, a bull and a turtle. They didn’t look quite right without anything to display them with, so I went down to the thrift store and found some wooden frames. After some minor repair work, paint and sandpaper, I had finished my first upcycled and distressed frames – a process that I still get excited about doing.
After the first personalized gift was done, I couldn’t (and still can’t) be stopped. Next was some more upcycled frames and then a wall hanging I fashioned with some old fence boards that were laying around. Pretty soon I was stopping by the recycling yard every few days to haul away broken pallets so I could make wine and beer carriers – some of my favorite gifts to give. Flash forward a couple years and nearly everything we make has its beginnings as a gift.
What I like most about making gifts is that I’ve solved the two problems I have with factory made goods – I can feel the quality of materials I use and I know that each piece is going to be special and unique. We’d love to help make your gift giving experience special and unique as well - to see what we’ve made lately, or to request a custom order, click here. Be sure to use code GIFTOFFREEDOM to receive 10% off your purchase.
One of the first gifts I made was for my sister. I brushed the dust off my pens and paintbrushes and illustrated some animals on watercolor – a pelican, a bull and a turtle. They didn’t look quite right without anything to display them with, so I went down to the thrift store and found some wooden frames. After some minor repair work, paint and sandpaper, I had finished my first upcycled and distressed frames – a process that I still get excited about doing.
After the first personalized gift was done, I couldn’t (and still can’t) be stopped. Next was some more upcycled frames and then a wall hanging I fashioned with some old fence boards that were laying around. Pretty soon I was stopping by the recycling yard every few days to haul away broken pallets so I could make wine and beer carriers – some of my favorite gifts to give. Flash forward a couple years and nearly everything we make has its beginnings as a gift.
What I like most about making gifts is that I’ve solved the two problems I have with factory made goods – I can feel the quality of materials I use and I know that each piece is going to be special and unique. We’d love to help make your gift giving experience special and unique as well - to see what we’ve made lately, or to request a custom order, click here. Be sure to use code GIFTOFFREEDOM to receive 10% off your purchase.