All of our products are made from willow sprouts that grow locally in southeastern Iowa. My grandpa Gary works with the local DNR to locate healthy willow patches that we can harvest from.
They are often found near creek beds or other waterways and can be difficult to access. If the weather isn’t favorable, or if it’s too muddy, we may have to wait until it dries up a bit or try to find another patch.
Below is what we see when we are in the middle of a Willow patch. A lot of these sprouts are nice and straight, perfect for use on our next project.
Once we have what we need to build our orders, we load the willow in the back of the cargo van and head back to the shop to start prepping the willow to be used. Each piece needs to be stripped of leaves and twigs and inspected to decide how it will be used based on size and how straight it is.
Pictured below is Zach putting the finishing touches on a Garden Chair for an order. These chairs are used mostly for decoration and are simple in style but can definitely still be used for seating.
