How are they eco friendly?
They are made out of Scottish hardwood offcuts which would have been destined to become firewood at my local sawmill.
Before the off cuts are sent to the biomass, I go through all it and take out all the pieces which are too good to go and I make them into these boards with them so that the wood can go on to a new life as a chopping board.
I started this project because I am currently training to be a furniture maker and materials and tools are very expensive. These boards are fairly simple to make and I thought that it would help me to make some cash to pay for tools and materials and courses so that I can learn how to make fine furniture.
I have been visiting local businesses to see if they can ben stocked in their shops with some success but it is hard to get your foot in the door as most business owners are very busy. If anyone has any suggestions on shops in Scotland which sell homeware items or handmade gifts, I would very much appreciate suggestions.
To anyone else who wishes to help support my business you can visit my website where you can buy a chopping board (they make great Christmas presents!) or see my portfolio of my work. Here is a link to my website for anyone who is interested: www.albawoodcrafts.com
Even if you don’t have ideas for shops or want to buy anything, I would love to engage with people, feel free to leave a comment with a questions or to start a conversation, this is a very exciting time for me and I would love to hear what you folks have to say!
by DuggieInz
24 comments
These look really nice, I hope they do well. They will make lovely gifts. The coasters sets are really nice too.
One thing I would note is that the grain of the wood should be perpendicular to the cutting direction on a chopping board, so your large board (looking at your web shop) is OK but the medium one will degrade and split quicker as the grain will get chopped out.
Best of luck to you!
I’ve had a good look through your site and it’s all lovely stuff. I’ve given you a follow on Instagram too.
Saying all this as feedback, it is a lovely initiative and wish you the best with it!
Have been interested in something similar for a while. I am aware that that might be difficult, but after doing some market research on my own before, I have seen the problem is finding tables larger than your largest model. Saying this in case you might be open to consider doing an even larger size or being open to custom sizes (which maybe is tricky because of your source material).
On some more feedback, it seems some things are out of stock, but it would be grand to be able to notify interest in a product and be reminded once it’s back on the shelf.
That is gorgeous, thanks again for sharing 🙂
I feel like you might struggle as during Covid everyone began churning out chopping boards!
What woods are in the pictured board? I can recognise a few but not all of them.
Also interest what eco friendly glue you’re using?
(Also a woodworker 😉)
Ordered, purely by coincidence was about to start looking for a nice chopping board for my brother for christmas.
What sort of eco friendly glue do you use?
Not gonna lie, that board looks very good! Really like the difference in the woods
I reckon an end grain version would be cool af, I’d defos get one
A couple of things come to mind since you’re asking for feedback and I really like what you’re accomplishing!
If you’re the one doing the carving I imagine that you’re good at drawing, too. Perhaps a way to get interest from the local and even further afield shops is to make some miniature cutting boards out of the off-cuts of the off-cuts and then hand brand them using a soldering iron or a purpose made art tool with the logo of the shop on the front and with your URL on the back and then send them as gifts to the buyers or owners.
Since branding can be done quite quickly by someone with suitable drawing skills, this could also be offered in a successful future, at both a shop level and a consumer level.
This second idea may be more hair-brained but again for small off-cuts perhaps you could use smallish square pieces from off-cuts and glue them to each other and a supporting under layer and offer the finished product to tourists as a tartan cutting board. I can imagine the grain being rotated from square to square if that’s needed for resilience.
Best of luck with your efforts and future career!
But are they good for chopping chives?
Really love the idea and the product!
I feel like there’s an opportunity to do some charcuterie boards too, been looking for something unique there.
Thank you for sharing! Been looking for a new set of good cutting boards for my hubby for Xmas!
Looks lovely, hope all goes well and don’t listen to the halfwitts.
Perfect for Homer in Aberfeldy.
The first thing I perceive when looking at the website is that the photos look really good but there are no prices for anything. Therefore, I close all the tabs, and wouldn’t enquire further.
Are you talking £5 or £50 for a chopping board? Or £5 or £50 for coasters? Or £50 or £500 for the table? Some indication of pricing really does matter.
The work looks great. The Celtic knots look really cool, I wouldn’t be able to make them myself. But without any indication of pricing? The tab gets closed, no potential purchase even considered.
They look beautiful. Am I right in thinking they’re multiple offcuts glued together. Is the glue food safe? Is there spaces between the offcuts that cannot be cleaned and that will harbour bacteria and allow it to multiply?
I spent the time to look at all of the products in your shop. I think if you would like some real world advice from people who would be able to deliver the best constructive criticism, you should try to ask at r/chefit. These are industry professionals that use peels and boards many hours each day. They might have some insight that you wont find elswhere. Plus, it would be beneficial to spreading the word about your brand.
I do have a question. What type of adhesive(s) are you using on the wood? I didn’t see anything on your website that discussed if it was is food grade product. People that are really into food are shifting away from plastic cutting boards and transitioning to a more natural solution. I think you have the potential to be very successful with this. I wish you the best with your new venture.
PS I love the knots.
Get signed up for some markets in your area. Maybe even a trade show. Most of my stockists come from things like this. Collab with someone?? Ocean Plastic Kitchen might be a good fit – Eco conscious etc.
What is that wood on the far right hand side?
I love this! I might order one if it’s possible to avoid particular woods (e.g., oak is unsafe for parrots and I’d be chopping his food on it). However, what a beautiful way to use offcuts of our native trees.
My only questions have already been mentioned – glue safety, grain should be against the cutting direction and price.
genuine question – how would you (OP and user reading this) clean this board? i’m quite funny with using certain cleaning products on areas that i would eat on.
Beautiful board, but I would find all those changes in textures/colour in the board confusing when finely chopping something. Have I collected everything? Have I missed anything?
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