Hi Audrey and John, how are you today? Can you tell me a little about yourself and Overlook Woodshop?
We are doing well! It’s gray and drizzly here in Western Washington, which is pretty typical for this time of year. Hopefully some snow is on the horizon. We have been married for 14 years and have two young kids (ages 6 and 3). John is a police officer and Audrey is a stay-at-home mom. Overlook Woodshop is our hobby shop that we run out of our garage. We have made bowls, turned kitchen accessories, charcuterie boards and coasters, plus all the shop furniture we’ve needed along the way.
What got you into woodworking? How long have you been building?
Overlook Woodshop started as a bit of a pandemic hobby for John, then Audrey started watching YouTube videos too, and before long it was a joint hobby. The first project we worked on was a gazebo for our backyard, which necessitated buying a few tools and learning new skills, and then we started thinking about other projects we’d like to make. Audrey had a lesson on woodturning in December 2020, and that has become her primary focus in the shop. We are still so new to woodworking and are constantly learning through trial and error and from other makers.
What inspires you to create your pieces?
We are very much inspired by other makers and woodworkers, and appreciate the Instagram and YouTube community so much. We like to make useful items - things that a person will pick up and use on a regular basis. The first time we used dyed veneers was for a coffee scoop handle that we use every morning; it is useful and feels nice to hold and looks darn good on the counter, too.
Do you use Roarockit products in the making of your work? How did you find out about us?
We use Roarockit veneers in so many of our projects because the colors make us happy. It is fun to think of ways to add pops of color to brighten and contrast with the natural inherent beauty in wood. When we started to get serious about this hobby (that really means watching more YouTube and buying more tools, ha!), we saw a lot of eye-catching recycled skateboard projects. The thought of sourcing and breaking down skateboards was somewhat intimidating for us novices so we started looking around for other ways to find colorful wood for projects. Roarockit has a wonderful array of colors and generously sized sheets of veneer, so it was easy to decide to place an order and start experimenting. We’ve been loving and using Roarockit veneers since day one.
How do you decide what colour combinations to use in your pieces? Your colour combos are always on point!
Thank you! Obviously we use a lot of rainbows because they are awesome and cheerful. But we’ve been trying to branch out with other combinations as well. It helps that we save off-cuts from projects so we have small pieces to play around with. If the selection of small pieces looks good together, then we run with it and see how it turns out.
What are your thoughts on working with our coloured veneers? Are there any tips you can give to aspiring builders out there?
We love working with these colored veneers. They seriously brighten up woodworking for us and push us to find new ways to add veneers to projects, particularly with woodturning. There’s something truly exciting about the way the colors curve around a cylinder; we think it can add a different dimension and depth to turned projects. The veneers are easy to work with, too. One helpful tip is that we’ve found edge grain will maintain the best color when turning. Another tip is to carefully de-dust between sanding grits or the colorful sawdust will spread around the piece and the contrast between the veneers and undyed wood will become blurred.
If people wanted to find out more about your work, where can they see your creations and contact you?
We are on Instagram and Etsy under the name Overlook.Woodshop, and can be reached by email at Overlook.Woodshop@gmail.com.
Thanks again for your time, any last words for the readers back home?
Thank you so much for the opportunity to share about Overlook Woodshop! We look forward to continuing to build relationships with the other makers in this awesome woodworking community and sharing what we come up with in our shop.
Taryn O'Grady,
Roarockit Skateboard Company