Toasted Timber and Gifts

Recently, we worked with American based, Toasted Timber, to produce a couple custom, hand made pens to promote our company. We were so impressed with the quality of their work, their enthusiasm for the project and their complete professionalism, that we decided to introduce them to our readers. Below is our interview with Jennifer, along with some pictures of some of their previous projects. We strongly encourage you to visit them for your unique craft needs....

***Due to Hurricane Isaias, Travis was unavailable on the day of the interview. Hopefully he remains safe as he works around the clock to help restore power to the millions affected.***

GJT: How did Toasted Timber start? 

Jennifer: I have been doing custom pyrography as a hobby for about 6 years.  I needed a unique, last minute wedding shower gift. I'm a pretty creative person, so I went to work making one. This was truly the beginning of Toasted Timber....

GJT: So, Toasted Timber was born out of your creativity and the need for a unique, last minute wedding shower gift?

Jennifer: Now, I hand burn cutting boards, signs, coasters… pretty much anything made of wood.

GJT: Very Neat! What about your husband, Travis? You two have been married for 18 years, have one son, correct?

Jennifer: Yes that is correct.

GJT: Does Travis have any hobbies?

Jennifer: He searched for his own hobby for a few months, then decided to try the art of pen making. I think that was around 2016. A few months later, he taught himself how to cast playing card blanks. Since then, he has branched out into intricate steampunk, custom colors, embed and label blanks.

GJT: I think I remember Travis saying that you worked on the graphics for our pens, do you two work together often?

Jennifer: Yes we do. I do all of the label design work and Travis does the casting. 

GJT: Can you give me some of the countries, states, far and wide That you have shipped your products to?

Jennifer: Most of the US coast to coast honestly, but have shipped to Israel, UK, Canada...

GJT: What is the craziest thing you've been asked to cast/carve for a pen?

Jennifer: Not sure on the craziest thing we have cast...  probably the most special things we cast are memorial pieces (photos of lost loved ones). I can also burn handwriting, So i have done lots of letters and recipes for people in their grandmother's writing, etc.

GJT: I know you and Travis are involved in your church, How has your faith helped you in your "hobby"/growing business?

Jennifer: We are very active in church... Travis preaches at times to fill in for Pastor when he is absent. He is also on rotation to teach Adult Sunday School and Wednesday night Bible studies. He plays guitar and drums on the praise and worship team.  I teach 10 & 11 year old Sunday School and I sing on the praise team.  We are firm believes of giving tithes and offerings. We believe in giving God the first fruits. He just keeps blessing us!

GJT: Wow, that is a huge commitment to your church. That is great! When do you find time to do anything else? 

Jennifer: I have been full time homeschooling our son for about 4 years (not virtual school or anything like that)... it's a full time job for sure lol! Travis also works full time as a lineman,  so we are pretty busy. 

GJT: Any other hobbies?

Jennifer: We like to Camp, Jet ski and we are huge fans of Disney World!

GJT: Do you sell on Etsy or any other platforms? Are you planning any expansion into those types of markets?

Jennifer: No future plans for Toasted Timber at the moment.

GJT: What are typical lead times for your orders... I know size and scope of some of your projects can drastically vary the lead time.

Jennifer: Well..... 10 days at max. With my wood burnings, i have done some projects on short notice in a weekend. Travis can get things out in less than a week usually.... unless it's a lot of steampunk items, those take the longest. 

GJT: Steampunk.... how does that work with what he is doing? 

Jennifer: Not sure how to answer that, other than with pictures.. lol... he puts metal plates, watch gears and parts as well as watch faces and hands on pens.... he can even set the hands to important dates, like an anniversary or birthday.

GJT: I'll have to remember that.... would make a cool anniversary gift for my wife!

GJT: Funny question.... who does more sales.... your side or Travis's side?

Jennifer: Well.... Travis most definately?

GJT: Thank you for chatting with us... How can customers get ahold of you to place their orders? We are hoping you pic up a few new orders from this article.

Jennifer: Sounds great! Thank you!! Toasted Timber can be contacted on Facebook by clicking HERE. If you want to contact Travis directly on Facebook, click HERE. 

Some of Toasted Timbers Past Projects:

Toasted Timber can be contacted on Facebook by clicking HERE. If you want to contact Travis directly on Facebook, click HERE.