I am super excited to introduce you to a couple of new friends I've met. Julie and Aaron struck up a conversation with me after I used their product in
this post about hanging artwork. Since then, we have gotten to know each other and I just couldn't keep them to myself.
Julie and Aaron own the Etsy shop
TRwoodworks. I have always found people that run a shop together very intriguing, so I asked them a few questions about themselves and about their shop. Enjoy!
1. How did you meet?
Believe it or not, we are high-school sweethearts! This May will be our 18th anniversary, and we're still best friends (seriously!).
2. What part of the world do you hail from?
Aaron is a west-coast kid: Oregon, California, and Alaska. Julie will be the first to tell you she is southern and proud of it! She's from the Smoky Mountains of Western North Carolina. But now we call Montana home and we love it. But Julie turns the heater up too high, so we had to start a business to pay our electric bill!
3. What are Aaron's duties with the business? What are Julie's?
Aaron's duties with the business are whatever Julie says. Ha ha! Just kidding. We're a good team. Aaron handles all the woodworking (building, finishing, etc) and Julie handles the business side (paperwork, convo's, etc).
4. I love the colors you use on your shelving units. How do you choose them?
Actually, we found our colors by what we call a happy accident. We stumbled on these neat little paint pods at the hardware store, and Julie has been addicted ever since. The brighter and funkier, the better!
5. Aaron, where did you learn your woodworking skills?
I took a woodworking class in high school, and that's where it all started. Over the years I've done many things, served in the US Army and even drove 18-wheelers with Julie, but I kept coming back to woodworking. I love it. I've worked for other people doing cabinets, flooring, furniture building, and now, after three years of working two jobs to pay for my shop and build my business, I finally work for myself!
6. Julie, since you do the business side of things, would you consider yourself an organized and detail oriented person?
Hmmm, let's see, NO! Maybe I shouldn't say that; I might scare the customers! But I'm learning to be, and I’m enjoying it. I really love doing the convo's. What can I say? I love to talk! It satisfies that part of me. And I love it when people say we have good customer service. I get all warm and gooey. It’s a big goal of ours.
7. Have you created any unusual custom pieces?
Oh yeah! Unusual is our middle name! Aaron just finished a bookshelf/cabinet that is 8 feet long by 6 feet tall and almost 2 feet deep. He made it so it could be one solid cabinet, or you can separate it into 3 cabinets. The cool thing is, when you separate them, if you didn't know they were supposed to go together, you'd never know! They just look like 3 separate cabinets that you can put in different rooms in your house. He has skills (as his wife, I get to say that!).
8. Are there any new products we can expect to see at TRwoodworks?
You know, we don't want to spill the beans, but we have a really exciting new addition to our product line. All we can say is, it's for kids and we hope to have it listed on our Etsy site by the end of January. A shameless teaser trailer; keep an eye on our shop!
Tamarak Ridge have also been kind enough to share a fantastic discount for Dirksen Dabbles readers. If you use the discount code DIRKSENDABBLES at their shop, you get an extra 10% off any purchase! Check them out today!
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