Who are you? Carved By Heart.
It's run by us, Alice and Carl, a wife-husband team.
Where are you located? Durham
What do you create? From wood we carve plaques, house signs, bird feeders, mailboxes, wind
chimes, and clocks. We personalize many of our carvings and take custom
orders. Our slogan, "If you think it; we carve it!"
What is your favorite place to visit in the "triangle"?
It's hard to pick a favorite. We enjoy going to
Brightleaf Square
because it has such a magical feel to it. Also love the historic and
restored buildings (we love wood!) in downtown Durham.
When did you start creating? We started creating two years ago, but Carl was building items long
before then. He built a log cabin in New York and furniture to go with
it. I (Alice) am not the builder, but the admirer. I also do the admin
work for our business and the promotional.
We took a while to get ourselves focused (we do lead dramatic lives with
step-kids, teens, and two dogs), and didn't find Etsy until a friend
where we sell at a brick and mortar store in Raleigh--Gifts With A
Heart---told us that Etsy is a great place to sell so we opened our shop
last October.
What is your most cherished handmade item? I loved a moose clock we sold a few months ago. It was simple, rustic,
and adorable. Carl liked a rustic twig moose clock that we had in our
hallway until it sold in a private sale.
Of course, anything personalized in my son Daniel's memory is cherished by me.
Why did you choose your medium? Wood is so beautiful with its own personality. With Carl's love for
carving and crafting, this medium lets us create so many varieties of
products from clocks to wind chimes to toilet paper dispensers.
Who inspires you? My son Daniel was four when he died in 1997 from cancer treatments. A
lot of our work is inspired by his short life. We design items for the
bereavement community----personalized garden plaques, wind chimes, photo
plaques, etc. We sell at a grief/loss site as well.
Where do you create? In our garage. All the tools are in there as well as a recycled work space. No room for the car!
Why did you choose your company name? We debated about it for a few days and then when we narrowed it down to
three choices, we ran them by a friend in California and she thought
Carved By Heart was it. The name does reflect what we do.
What are your goals? We want to increase our business. We've been on Etsy for about 9 months
and have seen an increase in visibility and sales. We want more sales
(who doesn't, right?). We also do wholesale birdhouses and would like to
see that door open wide for us.
What do you do when you are not creating? We think of ideas for new products. Carl comes up with the best ones.
I'm an author, so I am usually editing a novel or hoping for another
book deal or writing at my blog. Carl has taught our boxer, Levi, to
sing when he plays the harmonica (Carl plays, not the boxer), so that
provides us some fun. We'd love to take Levi to the Blue Note Grille
one evening and see if he'll sing when a member of a band plays the
harmonica.
After you've browsed the wonderful selection of wood items at
Carved by Heart on etsy, don't forget to like them on
Facebook, follow them on
twitter, and read up on Alice's
blog.
NCTriangle Team Members who'd like to be featured, please contact Shore Debris.
