For today's
Shop Small Saturday Showcase feature, I have an absolutely wonderful shop to share with you today:
Brooklyn Butcher Blocks! It was the end of
Unique LA, and I was rounding the corner to exit, when I spotted this booth at the end. It absolutely stopped me in my tracks! I was in the midst of my
woodworking projects, so I loved absolutely everything that I saw. Then, while talking to Nils about the pieces he works on, it was apparent that he is extremely thoughtful and invested in his craft. You will be able to see exactly what I mean in the interview below!
Not only is this one of the best interviews I have shared with you, in terms of insight into a creative small business owner, Nils is offering one of his gorgeous items as a giveaway. Yes, this
gorgeous 12x18x2 End Grain Butcher Block Cutting Board could be showing up on the doorstep of one of you lucky readers! Stay tuned for that at the end of the post, but first check out some wonderful creations by Nils and how it all gets done!
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Tell me a little bit about yourself!
I haven't ever received any official training--what I've learned has been from family, from studying and from experience. Not to downplay the importance of the former two, but nothing quite matches experiences. You just got to do it at some point.
Where did the name of your store come from?
Brooklyn Butcher Blocks: While I call myself a maker of wooden kitchenware now, when I first started I was doing butcher blocks (and rest assured that's the gist of our business, despite also making beer mugs, wine racks, magnetic knife racks and tablet/phone docs, and we're about to finish up our first chair) and I live/work in Brooklyn, NY. When I started in 2010, Brooklyn seemed to have opportunities around every corner. I was tentative about calling myself Brooklyn blank, but after some more consideration, I thought that I should name my business after the town that helped me so much creatively and professionally. I considered it an "ode" or something.
Why did you start making goods for Brooklyn Butcher Blocks?
A knife making friend of mine answered me with, "A certain point, I think it's kind of existential. You do it just because that's what you do." I think there's something fundamentally true about that, but I think I'll extrapolate some. Why I work with my hands is existential in this way (I do because I do), but I think I'm interested in kitchenware because of the odd similarities between kitchens and wood shops. Once kitchens are put into a home, that's what they are. You're not going to make it into a bedroom without some serious renovation or an openness to an odd design. Additionally, kitchens are where you do work; you go in to do a specific job. It's much like setting up a wood shop in that way. You want long lasting equipment with a clean, simple, smart design without superfluous gimmicks.
What is your favorite item?
Hm. I like the 12x18x2 End Grain walnut because it's the classic, it's the building block of my business.
I like the brickwork board because it was a way to keep the same consistent design as everything else but it turned it into something different. The pattern was still reflective of function and in fact called attention to its function (the brickwork pattern we use is stronger than your run of the mill checkboard pattern)
I like the iBlock because while it added a gimmick to the product, the addition of the tablet slot was extremely useful--like way more than I ever thought it could be, and I think it was a solid idea from the getgo. Plus it's the first of its kind, I invented it. So not only are we making really function pieces, not just really beautiful pieces, but innovative pieces. I'm proud of that.
I also love the beer mugs. After the iBlock, I thought... "Okay, so how can I make something that's virtually impossible to make? Like a wooden cup." Our prototypes tried to stay true to beermugs of the past, but I decided that if I were making a beermug out of wood, then it should stand out and its design should be consistent with the rest of our lineup. If you wanted a standard beermug, then whynot just buy a standard glass one? It felt like I stripped down what a beermug should be and rebuilt it.
In short, I love everything I make :P
What is your most popular item?
Anything. Made. From. Walnut.
Where do you get the inspiration for your work?
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