About Us
Owner/operators Ted and Deborah Nutz founded Two Knotty Squirrels in 2017 in pursuit of a dream where they could bring their client’s dreams and ideas to life through collaboratively thinking and planning. The concept of making a product through teamwork was impressed upon Ted and Deborah during their 26 years in the United States Marine Corps. My military training and planning skills combined with my wife’s creativity and organizational skills acquired over those years has made it easy for us to work together to envision a project and make it a reality. When I retired from the Marines, I was hired by a commercial woodworking company for several years but decided to go back to school to further my professional education. I was always a woodworker at heart. My Grandpa Sibert and Uncle Doug were woodworkers and some of their projects are family heirlooms treasured by myself and my siblings. We kept acquiring tools and skills in pursuit of our dream of owning and operating our own business.
After 30 years of working out of a garage or other spare space, we were finally able to allocate resources to build our own small, but well equipped, wood shop. As family projects grew into projects for friends and then friends of friends, Two Knotty Squirrels was finally made official in 2017. We try our best to make quality, cost effective pieces. Word quickly spread via word of mouth and then personal media. Projects became more and more diverse which prompted Two Knotty Squirrels to invest in a mid-sized Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) router.
With the combination of this new tool and the popularization of epoxy, Ted and Deborah joined these two worlds together by doing epoxy inlays where images are routed out then filled with epoxy. We can do everything from sports team and company logos to superheroes, epoxy art is only limited by the client’s imagination. Ted and Deborah can add personal touches to tables, cutting or charcuterie boards, even noodle boards. These items make great gifts for the holidays, birthdays and housewarming presents.
Let’s face it, this is a world of cookie cutter homes and mass-produced home décor. Even those handmade crafts on Etsy can soon start to all look alike. Our love of woodworking has grown over the years, in part, because sometimes the wife will say, “Honey I need you to make…”. Even though it might seem impossible to create at the time, heads are put together and come up with a solution. Two Knotty Squirrels try to use the unique shape or grain pattern of a wood and let it tell its’ story. When we post or share a picture of a new project, someone always asks if they can have one just like it. Inevitably, the answer must be “Sorry, but no”. As two trees are never the same, nor are any two of our projects, unless special planning and considerations are made. Of course, we would be happy to help you find a piece of wood that is unique and different to suit your project’s needs. This is how we create our heirloom pieces where the client is as involved and invested as we are.
One of the many pleasures we enjoy is working together with our clients. Many companies insist that you purchase whatever they produce and hope that you like it. We specialize in making unique pieces that only have that one person in mind, you. We have found that the concept of custom work is starting to be forgotten, in that, if you are looking for something to fit a specific space or to be a specific size, color, or species of wood, the client gets to decide that. Two Knotty Squirrels is here to guide you every step of the way, through product selection to overall design to wood species, stain (if desired) to finish. Our goal is to ensure that you not only get many years of enjoyment from the piece but pass it on down the line to your children and grandchildren.
So, contact us here at Two Knotty Squirrels and let us make your vision experience reality.