Our Story1
Handmade Wooden
Intarsia Art
SHOP ALLOur Journey
A long long time ago in the far away land of Maine, Brad Eklund and Hazel Trinidad found themselves pursuing their education at Unity College. It was here that strengthened their shared interest in wildlife, plants, and all things encompassed in nature. In 2009, Brad earned his B.S. in Horticulture and Hazel earned her B.S. in Wildlife. They were both completely unaware at the time of where their passion for the environment would bring them.
They moved to North Carolina in 2010 where they combined their passions with a new found interest of woodworking and Entwood Crafts was born, along with their first child Tristan. This fun hobby slowly transformed into a small side business. In 2014, after welcoming to the world their second child, Lily, they made the exciting choice to turn Entwood Crafts into a full time career. They spent the years since then perfecting techniques, and building Entwood Crafts into what it is today. They began designing their own work and caught the attention of the specialty woodworking magazine, "Scroll Saw Woodworking & Crafts" and have since been published a number of times. They continue to be inspired by learning new techniques and creating new designs.
Intarsia? What is that?
Our specialty and main focus lies in the artform of Intarsia - a mosaic style of woodworking similar to inlay marquetry but with notable differences. You are not alone if that's the first time reading the word "intarsia". It was popularized many centuries ago by Italian artisans making mosaic patterns with inlaid stones. It has since migrated its way into many different mediums with wood currently being the most popular. Even still, wooden intarsia is a fairly rare form of woodworking and even rarer will you find businesses dedicated to it.
We do everything from concept to finished product. After drawing up a design the real fun begins. With a few exceptions, we rely entirely on the natural colors of wood. We use over 70 species of wood with a variety of textures and colors to get the desired effects. Finding that perfect piece of wood for a project is really exciting! After wood selection is done, each segment is meticulously cut out on a scroll saw. Some of our work contains several hundred individual segments of wood. After everything is cut, we do a quality check to make sure everything fits nicely and to spot any defects. Then each segment is carefully carved giving the design depth and an almost 3-d like appearance. Then the segments are glued together and attached to a backing material. We apply several coats of clear lacquer for long lasting protection and then it's ready to display.