Emily White has spent the past two years designing and manufacturing wooden housewares with a slight Tucson touch for her online store called La Vida. Taprout".
The small silhouette of a cactus with its roots below is subtly incorporated into many of White's designs, including wooden cutting boards, paddles, pickers and even scrapers.
Originally from Tucson, White has always been inspired by the beauty of the cacti, sunsets and wildlife of the Sonoran Desert. For the past two years, his love for Old Pueblo has been reflected in his handcrafted products.
"The Sonoran Desert is so unique and so beautiful in its own way, and there's nothing quite like it," she says. - Of course the house.
While White's designs are created with the Tucson in mind, she also keeps another important element at the heart of every project: functionality.
"I want them to take a room and put it in their house in a way that's beautiful but functional, so that it's interesting for them to be in that corner of their house or in that room." "She says. White." It could be something as simple as a small bowl with all those lemons and limes and you're ready to make a cocktail. Then you can look at that beautiful bowl you've chosen and it makes every moment a little bit special... These simple, everyday moments are so intentional and special, that's what I want to get out of every sale.
White felt the same when she started swapping out the bowls and spoons in her kitchen, replacing them with handmade items from local makers.
As someone who wasn't a big fan of cooking and often said it was more of a chore than a hobby, the transition made all the difference for White.
“I started slow and only put beautiful but functional things in the kitchen,” she says. "And then I was excited to use these things, I was excited to use these little ceramic bowls stacked on top of each other and special wooden spoons that I got from a local maker... And now I cook, and I love it because I'm surrounded by all these things that I've been cooking for years. Now the kitchen is my favorite place in my house. And the easiest thing to change was the rooms. around you. And it's also the easiest to change. That's why I want to help others feel.
From savings to woodworking
Although Taprūt is known in the community today for its wooden cutting boards and more, that wasn't always the case.
White's passion for creating wooden objects for the home is a new love amid the COVID-19 pandemic two years ago, when he had to move Taprūt from a vintage housewares store .
Before the pandemic, White spent her days browsing thrift stores and estate sales to find vintage homewares to sell in her online store, which she first launched in 2017.
"Covid happened and I couldn't save money, I couldn't keep my store stocked and I felt like I couldn't take a break and get by," she says. "I just thought my shop was probably going to disappear. So I switched gears and my brother taught me woodworking and it was a lot more successful than I ever imagined. And now that it's is more of a start in my business, especially during the holidays, it's all about woodworking. I'm now more of a creator than just a mediator. So it's life changing.
White is the mastermind behind every Taprūt model, but his brother Brian is the "math" of the design, he says. Without him, some of his unique creations, such as B. backsplashes and shore scrapers, may not have been realized.
Since her brother works full time, he helps on the weekends. But lately, Bely is making wood products itself.
One of his favorite creations are the mesquite planks, which he makes by hand from local hardwoods at his “Mesquite Dealer,” he says.
"I also get people calling me and saying, 'Hey, I've got this log, do you need it? "'And then I'll get the log and cut it into pieces,'" White explains. So you can point to any piece of mesquite in my shop and I can tell you exactly where it came from and how long it was made. And that's what makes mesquite pieces so special, and maybe that's why it's my favorite.
Although White runs Taprūt, it wouldn't be possible without her extensive support system - or, as she calls it, her "village" - which helps her run the shop and stabilize her work-life balance. Taprut's other helpers include her husband who packs all the major appliances for local markets, her e-commerce assistant Amber, her friends who give her moral support and of course her parents who house Taprut's carpentry workshop in their backyard.
A dream that brought him back to Tucson
Taprut has been a dream for years, literally since school.
After earning a degree in consumer science from the University of Arizona, White worked in malls and even a local boutique, but always wanted something different.
"I always felt the need to put my energy into something other than working for someone," she says. "Then I found myself reselling vintage finds and that's how the whole shop started and then it changed a lot over the years."
After a short stay in New Mexico, White knew he had to return to Tucson and open up shop.
"I only lasted nine months," he says. “I missed my home a lot. I miss the feeling of the desert. And that's when I realized I wanted a unique boutique that celebrates the desert.
All of White's pieces feature his rustic, desert-inspired aesthetic to some degree, whether it's a solid corpse piece, earth-toned ceramic vase, or hand-painted wrapping paper. hand in which she wraps all her commands.
She's always had a passion for interior design and interior decorating, but her signature style hasn't always been her trademark. She loved the bright colors and patterns of designers like Ethan Allen and Jonathan Adler, which contrasted sharply with her modern style influenced by the Sonoran Desert.
Even before White opened his store, he had already decided on a name: “The Store. Taprut". A "Taroot"-themed pun with a logo that references the Sonoran Desert.
“I just sat down and started writing words and drawing. For hours. We had to find a name. And then I thought, "Once I have a name, everything else follows." And of course it happens. … I wanted something that represented the root system of the saguaro to me,” he says. “And this is what my logo looks like. Everybody says, "Oh, it's the sun upside down." Yes, but it must also be the root system of the saguaro, but in a very tribal, almost geometric form. And Taprūt, I thought, stayed with me because the saguaro root system is so unique, and the root itself is about the length of a saguaro.
As the shop began to expand the line to include more handmade wooden products, White renamed "Shop. Taprūt" to "La Vida. Taprūt". to represent new lifestyle clothes.
"I decided I needed to do a bit of rebranding and wanted to move away from the 'store' and make it more of a lifestyle," says White. “And that's how I created 'La Vida'. So "la vida" means "life" in Spanish and I thought this was a fun game again.
As Taprūt has continued to grow over the past five years, so have White's dreams for the store.
At the moment, you can easily buy Taprūt online. Eventually, he aspires to open a boutique or studio where people can personally purchase wood and vintage collections and even share specific times for lunch and other gatherings under one roof.
"People can come and eat and drink and enjoy each other's company and shopping and be inspired and just be surrounded by things that make them want to try to make their home their home," White says. “I think people who follow me and appreciate what I do because they feel the same as me when I pick up a wooden bowl or bang on a board and that beautiful grain comes out. And it's like, "Oh my god, it's as beautiful as her natural beauty." People are excited about it too. And I want to share it."
