MOSES LAKE – A beautiful cutting board may be found at MOSES LAKE.
A Plus Woodshop, the newest addition to the Downtown Moses Lake Association’s Obra Project business incubator at 205 S. Division St., is owned and operated by Samantha Simmonds and her husband A.J.
Samantha Simmonds said, “It’s hardwood.” It will dull the blade before it penetrates the wood.
The cutting board Simmonds is holding is virtually a rainbow of hues, including brown, tan, magenta, and orange, all of which are derived from the relatively unusual hardwoods that the two have learned to deal with over the course of the previous few years.
“My favorite is the national tree of Jamaica, the blue mahoe. It grows just there, and it grows so quickly that it is used for reforestation, she explained. “It has some distinctive blue streaks, as well as blue, green, and gray. Hence, it provides a fantastic pattern for use in several of the designs.”
This includes the use of blue mahoe as an accent in cutting boards, such as the one she is holding.
“It is the only naturally blue wood that does not absorb minerals or other hues. That adds a little something more,” she remarked. Thus, it is an exotic wood.
Simmonds stated that she learnt about wood from working with it and creating objects over the past few years. She stated that her husband launched the firm just before to the COVID-19 epidemic because he wanted something he could do from home to care for her and their children as she coped with episodes of Crohn’s Disease, a chronic inflammation that may cause discomfort and infection in the large intestine.
When she healed, Simmonds stated that she began assisting her husband with modest tasks. Ultimately, he requested that she burn a name into a frame.
“I did so and realized I like it tremendously. So I began to create art,” she stated.
Her store area at the Obra Project is filled with items that she and her husband have created, including bookmarks, keychains, earrings with precise carvings, puzzles, plant signs, a few cutting boards, and other items from their vast home woodshop. In the past several years, according to Simmonds, the company has acquired new equipment, including a computer-controlled cutter and a laser cutter.
Simmonds even displays a moose she carved with a laser on the paddle of a moose antler.
“We were both rather diverse in our tastes,” Simmonds explained. “We want to always try new ideas…. I operate the laser, while he operates the CNC. “I am responsible for wood burning and he for woodworking.”
Simmonds stated that prior to opening the store, they both engaged in retail, carrying their items to exhibits every weekend.
She stated, “This year we will turn it back since we have a site.” “The first year, we were able to find a performance every weekend in Washington and Oregon. The previous year, we limited our performances to those within two hours of us. Hence, Spokane, Tri-Cities, and Coulee City, and similar locations. But until the weekend before Christmas, we performed them every weekend.”
Although Simmonds claims that the earrings she carves with a laser are the most popular goods, A Plus also does a brisk business with rubber-band weapons. Based on a concept her husband used to play with as a youngster, Simmonds stated that they realized the benefit of the guns as a method to entertain children during the Prosser Balloon Rally one year.
Both years, the rubber band guns have sold out. We brought 75 rubber band guns, but had to return home to create more and bring them back the next day,” she explained. “Once (most youngsters) see the launch of hot air balloons, it is no longer entertaining for them. And because it takes so long to inflate the balloon, they are sitting there bored.”
Simmonds stated that woodworking has become a full-time occupation for the entire family. They are instructing their adolescent on how to handle the equipment, while their five-year-old daughter examines the durability of all the toys and can distinguish wood from all over the world.
She is more knowledgeable about exotic hardwoods than many adults, according to Simmonds.
Simmonds stated that she still enjoys wood burning, laser carving, and the creation of earrings, while working in the retail sector.
“My wood burning is a zen-like activity for me. I prefer to simply plug in an audiobook and start driving. “I can sit there all day and burn wood while feeling great,” she remarked. And it’s something I can still do while I’m unwell, which makes it even better.
Network Hype Team