A new small business is making a splash in Templeton.
Bees Boards, a garage woodworking shop founded in 2021 by Paul and Bea Jones, creates handmade boards and a variety of custom wood products for customers online, at craft fairs and in various local stores.
And it all started with the fact that the couple, married since 2005, decided to restore the old butcher shop in the kitchen, reports Erlea.
"I said, 'Okay, I'll buy a new one,' but then I saw their prices and said, 'How hard is it to repair?'" he says. "And that's literally where it all started, trying to figure out how to fix a butcher block so you don't have to buy a new one."
YouTube University teaches what they know
After watching a few videos online of old butcher blocks ("YouTube University," as Paul calls them), the couple decided to put their skills first to use by making cutting boards. It turns out that the dog rescue organization the couple worked for was looking for raffle items for a fundraising event.
“Six or seven boards later, they raised $3,500 and paid for the dog's medical expenses. We started asking people if we could make a cutting board and it exploded from there,” Paul said. "We registered an LLC, turned it into a business and started thinking about craft fairs and projects and things we could take and do for people."
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A Templeton couple has turned their garage into a carpentry workshop
After converting half of the garage into a carpentry workshop using their CNC and laser skills, the two men, who didn't work with real wood, began making cutting boards, cheese cutters, panels, tools and glasses.
Knowing that the game was very popular in New England, they even started making custom cribbage boards. Paul, from the United Kingdom, and Bea, from Ohio, were unfamiliar with the game until 2006. moving to the area. But after selling hundreds of Big Ens in Springfield, the couple decided to make their own crib. The table is an integral part of their collection.
"I'm not playing," the bee admits. "I actually had to Google what a cribbage board looked like because I had never seen one before."
It is maintained by a local bee commission
Soon their products, mostly made from local wood, were on the shelves of several local businesses, including Smith's Country Cheeses in Winchendon and Red Apple Farm in Phillipston.
"We went beyond making a few cutting boards," says Paul, who spent a day designing security products for a major IT company. Beekeeping agencies often use local help to make some of their secondary products, he said. “The cabbage storage bags are sewn by a friend here in Templeton, the metal discs we use for the pocket cutters are made by another friend in Templeton;
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Ellie Catlin, owner of Smith's Country Cheeses, says having Bees Board products in her store is a win-win for everyone involved.
“(Paul and the Bees) are very easy to deal with from a general perspective. They are attentive, they check their windows, they care about how things are done in our store, and they have quick turnaround times, and you can tell they make quality local products, and that's what we love in our store,” said Caitlin. "And they are really wonderful people."
Tom Collaro, director of retail for Red Apple Farms, said the farm store offers bee-friendly products including flour boards, whiskey smokers and mini cribs. But he said their most popular item is the teaspoon.
“Every time we get new Bees Board products and post them on our social media, customers get excited,” Collaro said, adding that Paul and Bee are longtime visitors to Red Apple Farms. "We love having them as partners and collaborators, and our customers love seeing new things in their section of our store."
The basic rule of the carpenter's pair. "Keep it fun"
As for future plans, the couple plans to attend several major craft fairs next year, including the Christmas Craft Fair at Mohegan Sun and a return to the Big E.
"We're always looking for opportunities to get our products in front of people because people like to touch and feel these things, they don't just want to see them on a website," says Paul.
The pair, newly inducted into the Great Gardner Chamber of Commerce, will continue to make their specialty wood products while having fun.
"Our rule is to make it fun," says Paul, adding that they especially like working with local businesses. “We started doing it because we saw that we liked it, but it still had to be fun. I don't know if we are expanding. We would love to have more space in the store, but the store space is coming up. for rent and I don't want to pay rent for space in the store.
By the way, Paul and Bea said they still haven't returned their butcher's block.
This article originally appeared in Gardner News. Templeton's Bees Boards sells lumber to Big E and Red Apple Farm.
