Michael Parkhurst

Woodworker Brooktondale, NY

When I was a boy, customers would walk right through our kitchen to enter a tiny shop where my grandfather repaired shoes. As I watched wide-eyed, he could magically turn scraps of leather into fine boots! He never turned me into a shoemaker, but he taught me how to work. I try to channel his reverence for honest craft into each of my end grain cutting boards. It's a spontaneous process - no plans, no templates, and no design formulas. First, I gather together a group of harmonious toned hardwoods. Then, after studying grain patterns, I strive to make each cutting board its own entity. A great reward comes when the wood's natural colors glow with the first oiling.