Who We Are
I guess I can begin with saying that this company of one, started well over 20 years ago.
I have always enjoyed working with wood. I used to sit on a sunny day and whittle little
wind chimes in the backyard. I am not the only person alive that can look at a piece of
wood and marvel in its beauty, not only a finished piece, but a raw piece of wood as well.
You see, I can see the potential of a raw piece of wood. When I look at one, I see the
grain coming alive in my hands.
It all may sound silly to you, but my work will speak for itself. Most of the pieces I create have little or no finish on them. They have been hand rubbed to a bright shine, and coated with a little vegetable-based oil, that is all.
I took up woodworking seriously about a year ago. I was told many times that I was doing awesome work, but never believed it. Sometimes you just don't see what other people see! It took me a while to realize, (by comparison to other products of the same nature that I have seen in stores) that maybe they are right, maybe I am making a saleable product here. So I decided to market my wood products and see what happened out there in the real world.
I was born in Montreal almost fifty years ago. In my time there, I marveled at the architecture and especially the wood trim you would find in some of the older buildings in Montreal. I was a frequent visitor to St. Joseph's Oratory, on Queen Mary road in Montreal. Not only was I drawn there to look at the intricate designs in wood that were scattered throughout the church, I also found serenity there. It always was a favorite spot to go for that.
The calmness that I found at St. Joseph's, is reflected somewhat in my woodwork. I try to put as much of myself into every piece I create. That may not be too evident in a cheese block, or cutting board but my wind chimes certainly have a lot of me in them. When I am not busy doing chimes, or blocks, I usually find myself in the shop carving wood in to abstracts. I just let my imagination run wild at times and it really shows in my carvings. They may be viewed under MISC.ITEMS in the menu list, They, however are not for sale and are very personal to me.
All my blocks, chimes, and boards are truly all made by hand. It
takes me an average of 8-10 hours to complete one project, and I must be satisfied with
the end result or it goes right back to the sanding bench! I take great pride in my
accomplishments, and hope you will enjoy them for years to come. I have also tried to keep
my prices as reasonable as possible with out going to the poorhouse! Please enjoy this
site and the photos of my products. They are available at such fine locations as, The Crafters Marketplace
Where did the name "5Catz" come from? My partner and I have 5 Catz.