LostRiverWoodcrafts's Workshop

My woodworking career began in 1977 at a small custom furniture shop in Tempe, Arizona. I earned a living building custom hardwood furniture and cabinets for around 30 years. At the end of 2012 I decided to take a break from woodworking and worked in the behavioral health field. My wife Cheryl and I decided to buy a fifth wheel RV to live in with the idea it will be nice to be able to go wherever we want after we retire and take our home with us! Well, we’re still a few years away from that scenario and we have our new RV home on a beautiful lot on horse property in Tucson, so we’re in no big rush to go anywhere.

The fifth wheel we bought is a 2005 and needed some interior re-designing to update it a bit and give it more of a home feeling. So, the tool and machinery buying frenzy began!! You know…..”I need a table saw to do this, and you can’t do this correctly without a router….and a compressor is a must have.” You can never have too many tools in woodworking! Doing all the renovation work in the RV stirred some very fond memories of woodworking and how much fun it is, especially when you’re doing it for yourself.

All of this led to setting up our little outdoor shop complete with an outdoor carpet for the floor, shade canopies for the roof and shade screen for the walls, with a small storage shed for tools and materials. We are fortunate to be living in a part of the country where the weather permits for a semi outdoor workshop most of the time. Our biggest threats are strong winds and the occasional torrential rain, in which case we go inside and sand, do some wood burning or putting another coat of oil finish on completed projects.

So, that kind of sums up our story of how we decided to open up the Etsy shop. We’re constantly trying to think of the kinds of things that are fun to make AND other people like them enough to buy one once in a while. I have a ton to learn about marketing on social media and even here on Etsy, but that’s part of what makes it exciting. I’m amazed at some of the fantastic and creative things I see on Etsy. It’s very inspiring! Anybody who’s reading this, please feel free to send us an email with any questions or comments. I better get back outside and do some “real work,” lol!

-- Greg, Tucson Az, www.etsy.com/shop/lostriverwoodcrafts