​​Last weekend, Alanah and Matt visited the Wood Shop Workers Co-operative to build a one-of-a-kind desk for their apartment. The Wood Shop designs and manufactures wood furniture and interiors out of up-cycled and re-purposed wood from the Lower Mainland of BC. As part of their passion for inspiring the community, The Wood Shop hosts project based workshops for making tables, headboards and trunks. Alanah and Matt took part in the table making workshop and built a beautiful pallet wood desk. After some thorough exploration, they discovered the desk is made from pine and mulberry. Did you know that mulberry is a hard wood with a peppery smell? The red and yellow hues make it a unique wood that requires very little finishing to bring out its natural beauty.

Although Alanah and Matt have lots of experience wood working, it was a surprise and delight to find that the others taking part in the workshop were able to create magnificent tables with no previous experience wood working. Our successes during the workshop can also be credited to our gracious hosts, Chris Nichols and Jessica Valentine. Chris Nichols is one of the worker-owners at the The Wood Shop and brings expertise from years of carpentry to the various projects and workshops they host. With a keen eye and lots of skill, Chris helped the workshop participants create unique pieces to take home and love. From preparing the wood to lending in the moment support, Chris made sure our day was smooth from start to finish. Jessica lent her enthusiasm and personality to documenting the day in photos. With a passion for the finer things, Jessica lent her support for the finishing. Staining, burning, sealing, and sanding, she helped each of us pick the right finish for our tables. Check out some photos from the day to see a bit of a space and the tables we built.

While Alanah and Matt are in love with the new addition to their space, after all it’s more space to get CSW work done, what they were most excited to share was about The Wood Shop itself. The Wood Shop and CSW share the same values of community, collaboration, education and sustainability. In the spirit of community and collaboration, the Wood Shop is a Worker’s Cooperative. They source all of their materials locally and about 95% of the materials used in the shop is wood that is considered “waste” in this city, including construction, demolition and renovation materials, discarded pallets, box spring frames and Arboriculture. Through community engagement and local initiatives, The Wood Shop Workers Co-operative delivers educational experiences that allows their visitors to walk away with something to be proud of.

Whether you’re passionate about woodworking, looking for a DIY project or interested in learning more, we recommend The Wood Shop for the community, creative space and experience.

Check out The Wood Shop here to learn more about their workshops and community projects.