I get asked about live edge wood a lot. Customers see it in a photo, something catches their eye — that raw, organic curve along the side of a board — and they want to know more. So here's the full story, the way I'd tell it in the workshop.
What Is Live Edge Wood?
Live edge wood is lumber that's been cut and finished while keeping the natural edge of the tree intact. Instead of squaring off all four sides the way you would with standard dimensional lumber, I leave one or both edges exactly as the tree grew them — bark removed, but the natural contour of the trunk preserved.
That curve, that slight irregularity — that's the live edge. And it's different on every single piece.
Where Does It Come From?
If I don't grow it, I source our wood locally from the Pacific Northwest. Oregon hardwoods — walnut, maple, cherry, plum, apple — each have their own character, their own grain patterns, their own way of catching light. When I'm selecting a slab for a project, I'm looking at the whole tree's story: how it grew, where it branched, what the grain tells me about its life.
Live edge slabs come from the outermost part of the trunk, just inside the bark. That's where the most interesting figure and grain variation lives. It's also the part of the tree that most mills discard, which is a shame— it's often the most beautiful part.
Why Does It Matter?
There's something that happens when you put a live edge piece in a room. People stop and look at it. They reach out and touch it. They ask where it came from.
That doesn't happen with furniture from a big box store. It happens because live edge wood is genuinely one of a kind. The keepsake box I make from a slab of Oregon heriloom apple wood cannot be replicated — not by me, not by anyone. That specific grain, that specific edge, that specific piece of wood existed once, in one tree, in one yard, orchard or forest. Now it's in your home.
That's what I'm trying to capture with every piece I make.
A Project I'll Never Forget
A few months ago, a local customer found my work online and reached out with an idea I'd genuinely never heard before. She wanted to replace all the baseboards in her upstairs office, bedroom, and studio with live edge pieces.
I had to stop and think about that one. I'd never done architectural trim work with live edge before — it's a completely different challenge than a keepsake box or cutting board. The pieces need to be consistent in thickness, fit precisely against walls and floors, and work around corners and doorframes. But the idea was so compelling that I couldn't say no. I got creative, worked through the problem, and figured it out.
The result was absolutely beautiful. The natural edges running along the floor gave each room this warm, grounded feeling — like the forest had quietly moved in. She loved it so much that she came back and asked me to trim all her built-in bookshelves with live edge wood too. It's one of the most unique and striking interiors I've ever seen, and I'm proud to have been part of it.
That project reminded me that live edge wood isn't just for tabletops and gift boxes. When you're willing to think differently about it, it can transform a space in ways that nothing else can.
How I Work With It
Working with live edge requires more patience than standard woodworking. I have to read each slab carefully before I cut — figuring out how to get the best yield, how to orient the grain, where the natural edge will look most intentional in the finished piece.
I flatten each slab, fill any voids or cracks with tinted epoxy, and finish with multiple coats of a food-safe or furniture-grade finish depending on the piece. The goal is always to let the wood be the star. My job is just to get out of its way.
What I Make With Live Edge Wood
Most of my live edge work goes into keepsake boxes, jewelry boxes and clocks — pieces where the natural edge becomes a design feature rather than an afterthought. Each one is photographed individually because each one looks completely different.
If you've ever wanted a piece that's truly yours — not a style, not like anything else....an actual one-of-a-kind object — live edge is it.
Browse my live edge keepsake and jewelry boxes → locallygrowngifts.com/collections/live-edge-jewelry-trays