Jax Woodcrafters
Continuing on our series of highlighting our favorite local makers, doers, creatives, farmers and friends, we started the series off with The Heirloom Yard, a micro flower farm located in historic Fernandina Beach, Florida. Next up we want to highlight our friend and favorite local carpenter, wood worker, THE MOST FABULOUS raised garden magician, Jax Woodcrafters! We have had the privilege of working alongside and with Matthew on several landscaping projects and can testify for his skill, passion, and hard work! Interested in learning more about Matthew’s story and services? Check out our interview below! Thank you Matthew for all that you do!
You can find Jaxwoodcrafters on his website, Instagram & Facebook!
What inspired you get into carpentry? Tell us a little about your journey here to Jax Woodcrafters, did you start when you were younger? What projects did you make as a kid if so?
I grew up in the Midwest with a pretty large family that we just fixed our own things. We would help each other out, build decks, reroof a house. It was just something that we never hired someone to do so from earliest memories, I was always being taught how to build or do something with my hands. I eventually took that skill set into cooking and making a career out of that. Over the years, I have always did some form of home projects/carpentry during my personal time. So I always knew I had the skillset. During the pandemic I pivoted after being furloughed, and fell back on the skill set that I’ve had since as far back as I can remember.
What did you do to prepare opening a carpentry business?
I would love to tell you that I came up with an amazing business plan, and did a ton of research but that’s really not the case. I was a corporate chef with some large companies, lastly, working for Deloitte and I was furloughed during Covid so during the pandemic I started building gardens for my neighbors more as something to keep me busy and build a sense of community. During this time we got a chance to build a large community garden down in Holly Hill, Florida, just outside of Daytona, and I fell in love with it I fell in love with what a garden represented. What a garden meant to me growing up represented time that I spent with my family picking, working, watering, pruning and then ultimately bringing that food to nourish your bodies. The garden is where I fell in love with food so I just put it in my creativity into building gardens and it just kind of bloomed from there organically. As we made some mistakes along the way and learned some great lessons, over the last three years we built a large community of followers and clients, along with amazing partnerships, and ultimately that became our business plan.
How did you come up with the name Jax Woodcrafters?
I wanted to come up with a name that encompassed where we’re from and what we do!
What is your business model?
We are a small boutique outdoor carpentry business. We focus on hand making custom raised garden beds, wood shutters, outdoor showers, covers for AC, pool equipment and trash receptacles.
Is there anything/philosophies you would like the public to know about building with wood/carpentry?
The old saying “measure twice cut once” really applies more as a metaphor than anything to us. We primarily focus on functionality over aesthetics and if for some reason it doesn’t seem to work for us it won’t work for our clients — plain and simple. The beauty about working with our clients is learning something new every day, while embracing and adapting from the challenges along the way!
What is the biggest challenge building things?
Our biggest challenge is also one of our best attributes. We are small business that embraces our “signature custom products” such as shutters, raised garden beds and other outdoor wood works. We’ve been asked by many to branch out and build decks and pergolas and offer landscaping irrigation, etc. but it’s worked best for skillset (and sanity!) to stay specialised in what we do and love so we frequently refer out and work with other like-minded companies knowing clients will always receive the best service. We love working with amazing local companies in our area such as Bluebird Growers, Main Made and Hollywood Decks!
What are your favorite products/projects to create and why?
I love doing our custom cedar garden beds! I think they just really shine and come off as an heirloom product for our clients. Our clients will be able to utilize, enjoy and cherish them for years to come!
