Spoonman Cutting Boards
This all started about four years ago here in Saint Paul with an end grain cutting board that I made for my wife. I had bought her some really nice knives for Mother's Day and in researching how best to care for and preserve them, everyone said to get a hardwood end grain cutting board. So I found a design and made one, and it turned out so nicely that I started getting orders from my friends and their friends, and now here we are! I've since been branching out, researching, and making my own designs. I have been a woodworking hobbyist for almost 20 years now, and I am also an artist and a cooking enthusiast, so it has been great to see three of my passions come together so nicely in a way I can share with others.
I get asked a lot where the company name comes from. "Spoonman was my nickname at the restaurant where I worked when I was getting started with all of this. The nickname came from the chef, who is a good friend, and I like it as well as any I've had in a long time, plus it's got a good culinary feel to it. I mocked up some logos on some napkins on a slow night at the restaurant and pitched them to the staff; we picked our favorite and off I went.
Any of the boards you see can be made again for you. Pricing on the end grain boards ranges from $150-$180, and the long grain board will be priced in the $90 range. (These are full size chopping stations. Smaller boards available upon request.) Some people experience varying degrees of sticker shock when they hear this, but my prices are lower than most others in the industry charge for premium designer cutting boards. You do, indeed, get what you pay for, and if you love to cook and chop and appreciate your nice knives, there is no substitute for a great hardwood cutting board, especially not for $12. The lumber alone for a single board like these is anywhere from $25-$40. There are some really nice hardwood boards out there that are being sold slightly cheaper than mine, but they are mass produced from only one type of wood. As a small local business, I cannot compete with the economy of scale of a large shop or national corporation. But if you are looking for a beautiful and unique design, a local company with great customer service, or a custom product to fit your exact wants and needs, you have come to the right place. Spoonman cutting boards can be completely custom - just let me know what size and style you'd like and I will make it happen. My standard size is around 14" x 20", as I find this to be a nice size for an all-purpose chopping station for a typical kitchen. If you like a design you see, but want it larger or smaller, all of my designs can be scaled up or down. Need it extra large? Extra small? Specific wood or color? On a tight budget? No problem!
I do leatherwork as well and am also now offering custom leather knife bags and knife rolls for professional cooks and chefs to transport their knives to and from work. I work part-time at a restaurant and have friends who are professional cooks/chefs, and many are unhappy with their standard boring black knife bags with the zippers and velcro that break down and the cheap nylon and mesh that their knives wear through. I specialize in CUSTOM and PERSONAL touches: colors, fabrics, logos, themes - your imagination is the limit!
My "day job" is directing bands and teaching music, and the latest addition to the Spoonman product line is baton cases for band and orchestra conductors. I am not reinventing the wheel, but I do feel the current "wheel" of leather baton cases, while beatiful and highly functional, could use a little customization and personalization. I have a few sample pictures posted, but if you can dream it I can probably tool it onto your leather baton case: instruments, sayings, college logos, etc. Cases are hand-tooled and hand stitched, and can then be finished with an "antique" finish which highlights the design but still leaves it with a natural-looking finish (in a range of leather tones) or they can have color added. I am still figuring out a "pricing scale", but for now I am just bidding each case on an individual basis depending on how much work it is for me. Most of the standard (plain) leather cases that I have seen other places start around $90-$100. My leather cases with custom tooling will start around $150 and will probably cap out at around $250 for tooling on both sides with color. I use mine every day and my students love it and I have gotten nothing but compliments and envy (and now orders) from my professional colleagues.
Contact the Spoonman to get your project started today!
