Sawmill Business Podcast

Nick Price: Valley View Industries  “We’re well-known in town for what we do because we do a good quality product, so it’s an easy sell.” Nick Price Welcome to a brand new episode of the Woodpreneur Podcast. Today your host Steve Larosiliere sits down with Nick Price from Valley View Industries. From ambitious beginnings to the story of a long-held family business, you won’t want to miss this one! “Our origin story is that my dad started the business well over 30 years ago. When I graduated high school in 2009, I started working for my dad; I was like, ‘Oh yeah, I’ll get rich, and it will be awesome.’ But that was not the case. My dad’s a pretty stern old man, and I got quite the whoopin’ and learned how actually to work. So it was a pretty good opportunity for me.  As the years went on working for him, I was like, ‘Hey, I liked this. I love working with cedar.’ That’s the wood we work with primarily, and it just went on and on. Then he started going away in the winters going to Thailand. So I na

Hey everyone, this week it's just family, Steve, and Jake from @ollogginepoxy on the podcast. Let's talk networking! Make sure you follow The Woodpreneur Podcast anywhere you get podcasts, so you don't miss an episode!

Katrina Amaral: Timberdoodle Sawmill “They'll put us in touch with the landowner if they’re like ‘Well, I've never thought of this. We could use it’” Katrina Amaral Welcome to a brand new episode of the Woodpreneur Podcast. Today your host Steve Larosiliere sits down with Katrina from Timberdoodle Sawmill. Katrina and Miles began custom sawmilling with a homemade chainsaw mill way back in 2010. Since then, the business has grown enough for both of them to focus their time and energy heavily on the business, and what a journey it has been! “We have a nonsensical origin story: Miles built a sawmill, it snowballed aggressively, and that’s what we’re doing now. So we are currently a vertically integrated sawmill business in rural New Hampshire. We have the capacity to cut down trees and handle the chain of custody all the way through milling and post-processing, which means that we do like a very geographically circular product.  When we were still sawmilling out of the duplex apartment that we were

Steve Thomson: Happy Life Wood Welcome to a brand new episode of the Woodpreneur Podcast. Today your host Steve Larosiliere sits down with Steve Thomson from Happy Life Wood. Larosiliere and Thomson connected almost two years ago when Thomson purchased a Woodpreneur sweatshirt. It was then that Thomson was able to show off the incredibly unique work that he does with Happy Life Wood.  “Yeah, I do a form of intarsia, where I take different species of wood, and basically utilize them in a fashion that replicates a photograph or an object. So I take pieces of different species of wood, I glue them all together, and build what I call a foundation. Then I sculpt and carve it.  That's really the basics at its root of intarsia, but if you look at Tarja, and you look at my process, there are some subtle differences. The end result is quite a bit different because I end up with something that's a little bit more realistic than your typical intarsia. They tend to just round over the edges and put it together l

"People will come to me and say, 'Well, do you think you could like make a bowl out of that?' We can make like 15 tables; we could make your entire hardwood flooring. Showing people how much wood is actually in a tree's trunk is eye-opening for many people." Ron Dyrcz Welcome to a brand new episode of the Woodpreneur Podcast. Today your host Steve Larosiliere sits down with Ron Dyrcz from Ronders wood and metal works in Illinois. Ron is a rare type of Woodpreneur, A chainsaw miller. Steve is fascinated with chainsaw milling because it is a very accessible form of milling but requires a lot of hard work.  "It all started with being in the art world all my life, lots of family members, carpenters, trade people, you name it. So I've always been in the industry, but I never really saw the tree or the arborist industry. Then I got diagnosed with Crohn's, got sick, and lost my way. I didn't know where I would head or what job I would do.  I started taking down trees in my own yard because they were old an

Erika Horigan: Horigan Urban Forest Products “It's this product that does everything that you sort of want it to. It's beautiful, sustainable, at this point, it's plentiful. We can keep on producing it; there's so many good things in it.” Erika Horigan Welcome back to a brand new episode of the Woodpreneur Podcast! Today your host Steve Larosiliere sits down with Erika Horigan of Horigan Urban Forest Products. Erika is a rare Woodpreneur interview for Steve because she is also located in Chicago, not an area with an abundance of urban lumber involvement. “Horigan Urban Forest Products got started in 2003, so it's been a while. Prior to that we had a tree business. It was my husband, Bruce, who had seen these trees going into the landfill at first, and then into firewood or mulch and he thought that there's got to be a better way.  Taking them to a higher use was the beginning thought and we started to look into milling and kiln drying, it took quite a while. Then in 2003, we sold Horigan Tree Ind

Collaboration For An Ever-Evolving Product FT. Ryan Cochrane | Cochrane Kayak "I wasn't a good athlete because I was a talented athlete. I was a good athlete because I put everything into that. Exactly that. And I focused on it." Ryan Cochrane Welcome back to a brand new episode of the Epoxy Business Podcast. Today your hosts, Steve Larosiliere and Jake Latvala, sit down with Ryan Cochrane. Ryan is a former Olympian, a Woodpreneur Podcast alumni, a good friend of Jake and Steve's, and this past year has become an essential partner with Ol Loggin Epoxy. "Epoxy is something that I used before but in a different way, because I was using it more in kayaks because I was as a kayaker as an athlete. So it was more for boat-building processes and things like that. But I watched many people make these river tables and do stuff like that, which made me want to see if I could do that.  Alan, a friend of ours, reached out to me on Instagram and said, 'Hey, do you want some product?' I said, 'Yeah, I'd love t

Justin Ephraim: Reduxwood  Welcome to a brand new episode of the Woodpreneur Podcast. Today your host Steve Larosiliere sits down with Justin Ephraim from Reduxwood! Justin is part of the returning guests club, and a lot has happened since Justin was on the podcast last. Over the nearly two years since Justin and Steve have spoken, an entire pandemic and massive growth for Reduxwood has occurred. So you won’t want to miss this one! “A lot has happened in the last year and a bit. When we spoke last time, we had just opened our first location with the J. Edward Group in California and San Diego. Since then, we’ve been expanding. First was Vancouver Reduxwood West about three and a half years ago. Then the J. Edward Group opened, and they got their first container just before California locked down. It’s been a wild couple of years.  We were quite aggressive many years ago, acquiring many of the logs we got from the lakes. I flew down there a decade ago, and over eight years, we acquired hundreds of tre

Now That’s Social Media Marketing Ft. Alex from Backyard Resin “Just trying to optimize everything step by step and trying to get better. That’s where we’re at now.” Alex from Backyard Resin Welcome to a brand new episode of the Epoxy Business Podcast. Today, your hosts, Steve Larosiliere and Jake Latvala, sit down with Alex from Backyard Resin. Alex has made his mark with incredible videos of phenomenally eye-catching pieces. His epoxy tables have inspired his hundreds of thousands of followers, and all it takes is one look to see why. “This whole thing started as pretty much everybody starts their hobby. I worked in sales and had a great career, and I decided I wanted to make things with my hands. I saw the epoxy tables, which I thought were really interesting. So I decided to make one, and I loved it. Then I made one for my brother, my mom, and my grandma, and eventually, people said, ‘Hey, you’re pretty good at this. You should probably start selling.’  One of my friends also told me, ‘You sh

Adam Beasley: Lazy Guy DIY Welcome to a brand new episode of the Woodpreneur Podcast. Today, your host Steve Larosiliere sits down with Adam Beasley, who goes by the name Lazy Guy DIY. Steve and Adam met up in person just before the start of the pandemic at WORKBENCHcon in 2019.  “First and foremost, my channel Lazy Guy DIY started in 2016 focused on woodworking, DIY, and tool reviews, and that's been going pretty strong. I also run social media for several companies, I have a consulting company where I consult with brands, and we set up Ambassador programs.  I work with a few makers here and there and I do a maker show, which is online woodworking, competition, art and furniture flipping. I'm a co-owner of that, and it’s one of the biggest online competitions out there right now. Lastly, I am a carpenter on a TV show that's getting ready to air this winter. We're filming episodes, and I actually leave here in a few weeks for another location, and that's going to be on the Outdoor Channel in December

Learning the Tricks of the Epoxy Trade Ft. Arthur Santel “I started learning and developing my technique and that stuff by myself. And I really enjoy being able to chat with my guys, working on this project, working and collaborating with the clients.” Arthur Santel Welcome to a brand new episode of the Epoxy Business Podcast. Today, your hosts, Steve Larosiliere and Jake Latvala, sit down with Arthur Santel, owner of Art de Seve. Arthur started his business about two years ago. Before that, he worked with a company handling concrete and epoxy flooring until he found an opportunity to work with wood. “I decided to try different stuff with wood. I had no experience before, but I had a shop where I could do that. So basically, I just bought a piece of wood for the first time a year ago, and then I met Lab Surface and you guys, and then everything started.  So now I have three other associates, we’re based in Montreal, and we’re doing everything with epoxy, wood, and concrete, like furniture, tables

“We sell and retail in all kinds of dimensional and live edge slabs. I think we probably have one of the largest selections of kiln dried live edge slabs in Alberta.” Jacob Dennill Welcome to a brand new episode of the Woodpreneur Podcast. Today your host Steve Larosiliere sits down with Jacob Dennill from The Bearded Ox. Jacob has been an entrepreneur for about 14 years and was very successful in the company he started previously, but it didn’t give him the feeling he needed to keep going. “I was making good money, and all that was great, but a little piece of my soul died every day. So I decided I had to do something different. I went and did a lifelong dream and got my commercial helicopter pilot’s license, and I was going to start a helicopter company. But in the meantime, I need to do something to make money because you can’t just fire up a helicopter company the next day.  So I told my wife that I’d be a pretty grumpy guy if I had to keep doing what I was doing, so let’s start another company.

Building an Epoxy Business Community Ft. Kevin Patanella Welcome back to a brand new episode of the Epoxy Business Podcast. Today your hosts, Steve and Jake, sit down with Kevin Patanella, an epoxy artist, ambassador, and friend to Ol Loggin Epoxy.  “Like many, I feel like I got pushed into starting something because of COVID. I was working in masonry as a laborer, and we were put on hold for six months, and that’s before they began to help everyone out.  My father is a framer, so I grew up with tools, but I didn’t really have the attention span to start a house and frame it out, and I wanted to do little projects and knock them out quickly. So, I started with his old tools, a table saw, a circular saw, a belt sander, and an orbital. That’s all I had.” Kevin Patanella The Draw of Epoxy Every person who works with epoxy, whether they focus on river tables, artwork, or anything in between, is drawn to the material for a reason. Sometimes it’s the durability, the inherent creativity, or some othe

Yelitza Mora: BuildTX Solutions Welcome back to a brand new episode of the Woodpreneur Podcast. Today your host Steve Larosiliere sits down with Yelitza Mora from BuildTX Solutions. Steve and Yelita met at a mastermind in San Diego, where Yelitza explained that she operates a construction company.  She may not be your typical Woodpreneur, but wood is one of the many mediums that Yelitza works with. Additionally, the brand and lifestyle she has built around herself paint her as a stellar example of what Woodpreneurs can be capable of. “We started about five years ago here in Dallas, Texas, because there was a need. I was consulting before we started the company, and then I wanted to start investing in real estate. When we tried to find good and reliable contractors, we couldn’t find any; it was just like the horror stories.  Everyone has this idea that contractors are terrible, they’re going to go ahead and run off with your money, and they’re not going to do things the right way. So I told my busi

“I still have years of work still available to me. But I'm looking to change this hat to a crown and be the king of casting.” Alan Nicholson Hello and welcome to a new episode of the Epoxy Business Podcast. Today, your hosts, Steve Larosiliere and Jake Latvala, sit down with Alan Nicholson, their partner at Lab Surface, the manufacturer of Ol Loggin Epoxy. “It all started about seven years ago for me. I was in the cleaning business before, and it was the cleaning business that brought me into the epoxy industry. Some of the school districts were requesting certain jobs to be done and asked if there were certain things that I could do. So it was thanks to the school district that I got into the epoxy business. After being in the cleaning industry for 25 years, I specialized in tile and grout restoration. They asked if I could restore those famous Bradley sinks in the school washrooms. The circular one where you turn it on with your foot. In figuring out how to restore it, I used epoxy, ground it all

“I think in order to understand how urban forestry can be successful, I think it's really important for people in the community to see what the process is like to get from a tree to lumber.” Tom Hamilton Welcome back to a brand new episode of the Woodpreneur Podcast. Today your host Steve Larosiliere sits down with Tom Hamilton from Lumbercycle in San Diego. Steve and Tom just recently hosted a Woodpreneur meet up at Tom’s shop in National City, which allowed so many familiar and new faces to get a chance to meet up, network, and share ideas! “We do things a little bit differently from most sawmills because we are a 501C3 non-profit. We started back in 2016 down here in San Diego and we have a community college called Palomar College, which has one of the greatest woodworking programs in the nation. You can learn to make literally anything you want there and they have so much community and staff that's ready to help you with any project you want to do.  They also have a sawmill urban forestry program, whe

Two to Canada, our Trip to Lab Surface and Formula 1 Ft. Jake and Steve   "Not many people know Lab Surface because they're a flooring manufacturer, and they're just now getting into the casting world, and they're putting 100% faith into us that we're going to take the casting world to the next level." Jake Latvala   Welcome to a brand new episode of The Epoxy Business Podcast. Today, your host Steve Larosiliere and Jake Latvala sit down together and talk about their trip to Montreal to visit Lab Surface. Although the trip was based on building relationships and getting work done, they had the opportunity to check out a Formula 1 race while there. Check out the episode to hear all the stories of their adventure up north! Read More

John Christensen: Native Lumber  “I don’t want to branch out and try to have all these other little avenues. I want to focus on what the mill is good at and make it ten times more efficient.” John Christensen Welcome to a brand new episode of the Woodpreneur Podcast! Today, your host Steve Larosiliere sits down with John Christensen from Native Lumber. With discussion about multi-generational woodworking, how things change over time, and the challenges facing businesses in today’s marketplace, you won’t want to miss this episode! “We’ve had a little sawmill on our family ranch for just about every generation, which my little girls will be the fifth generation on the place. The first mill was right after the turn of the century, a little steam-powered circle mill that my grandfather and his brothers used to build their house. Their father actually worked in a bigger production mill not far from here.  They grew a little bit bigger on an American Number One that they ran in the 40s and 50s. My dad took tha

Building Brand Recognition with David Pingrenon   “I’ve got three really cool tables I’m about to pour. One is a Viking table, and I ordered a full-size Damascus ax, a shield, a drinking horn, and some bone runes and stuff that will all go in the table.”  -David Pingrenon   Welcome to a brand new episode of The Epoxy Business Podcast. Today, your hosts, Steve Larosiliere and Jake Latvala sit down with David Pingrenon from Rotten Stump Creations, based out of British Columbia. David is an Ol Loggin Epoxy distributor and one of the relatively few Canadian representatives on the West Coast.   “I just got sick of doing the day job and was looking for something to do. I’ve always liked making stuff artistically with my hands, and I like stuff that comes from the art side of your brain, writing poems, playing guitar, things like that. It’s just not blue-collar work.    So I had a friend of mine, he’s on Instagram as well, and I saw he was making tables, and I thought it was cool. The first table that came

Miles Lanier: Tall Pine Outfitters & Lanier Lumber Co Welcome to a brand new episode of the Woodpreneur Podcast. Today your host Steve Larosiliere sits down with Miles Lanier of Tall Pine Outfitters & Lanier Lumber Co. Miles started the tree service company Tall Pine Outfitters with his brother and then vertically integrated another company, Lanier Lumber Co, into their business when they saw the need and opportunity. "My brother and I have a background in landscaping. We were doing landscaping for a while, landscaping installs, and maintenance until we transitioned over and started our tree service company. So we went full-time residential tree service and land clearing land management.  In the first couple of years in business, we produced so much material through the tree service that it became a no-brainer to integrate vertically. Then we could turn this raw material into something workable that we could bring to market instead of just burning it or disposing of it." -Miles Lanier Read