Introduction to The Crafty Smiths:
We are Jeff and Kate Smith! We are a family-run small business specializing in heirloom woodworking, including computer design, CNC machining, laser cutting and etching, and plenty of old-fashioned hand-tooling. We started The Crafty Smiths in 2011 (we originally called ourselves JSK Creative Designs, but no one could remember it) in Wenatchee, Washington. We sold small crafts before purchasing a hobby-grade laser cutter so we could cut out paper snowflakes and engrave simple wood signs. We discovered that our wood snowflakes were a hit! Those were the early days of our business, when we both had separate full-time jobs, but wanted to find something to do in our spare time that could actually help pay for our hobby! We looked forward to a day when we could quit our jobs and work together from home on a business that we created from the ground up.
In February of 2012, just a few months after we started the business, Kate landed a new job in Phoenix, Arizona. Rather than try to find a new job in a new city, Jeff chose to pursue the growth of our small business. After a month of living with Kate's parents, we bought and moved into our first home, which had a spacious 2.5 car garage. This meant we had some room to set up the wood shop in the extra half-car section of the garage while we managed to fit both of our vehicles inside too. That didn't last long as our Etsy shop really took off and by the end of 2012, we had upgraded from our cheap hobby laser to a professional-quality laser system with a significantly larger capacity. Our new machine was incredibly accurate and many times faster than our hobby machine! Fast forward a couple more years and we had two of these lasers running non-stop to keep up with orders, plus larger power tools that pushed my truck into the driveway. And yes, it was so hot in that garage in the summer that we installed a dedicated air conditioning system to cool it!
In November of 2018, after almost 7 years in Phoenix, we made the move back to Washington state and purchased a home in Spokane Valley with a huge shop in the backyard full of wasp nests and more holes in the roof than actual roofing (only slightly exaggerating). Jeff spent nearly two years working out of a small trailer we brought our equipment from Arizona up in. That's how long it took him to get the shop cleaned up and usable with an office loft space for the laser cutters, a massive woodworking shop space, plus a dedicated photography room and ventilated spray room. We purchased some new woodworking machines to make our thin woods in-house without wait times. Finally, a worthy workspace!
In 2024, Jeff purchased a CNC machine to work on new projects in tandem with his lasers and woodworking machinery. We have countless new project ideas to work on that this is only the beginning...
NOTHING MAKES US HAPPIER THAN A SATISFIED CUSTOMER!
We want you to tell your friends and come back for more! We also encourage you to like us on Facebook and Instagram and share our projects with your friends and family.
Definitely contact us if you would like to learn more about us or our products, or are interested in wholesale pricing for sale in your own retail location! We can't wait to work with you!
Who are we?
Jeff runs the online business and wood shop. He is the designer, producer, shipper, and customer service specialist. If you call or text, he's the one that you're talking to!
Kate is a part-time pharmacist and inspiration for a vast array of our products. She finds endless new projects for Jeff to work on and also keeps Jeff on task!
