Across town from the stately oaks and broad magnolias, University alumnus Josh Wascome spends his days in his backyard workshop turning salvaged wood into homemade, functional works of art.
With his business, Wascome Woodworks, the 35-year-old creates kitchenware — bowls, coasters, cutting boards and spoons — bow ties and ornaments out of a variety of local woods, including persimmon, cypress and magnolia.
Wascome sells his pieces at local markets like the Red Stick Farmers Market and the Mid City Makers Market, in addition to stores across southern Louisiana, including Sweet Leather Goods and Red Onion.
Growing up, Wascome worked with his contractor father remodeling and roofing houses during the summer, which gave him familiarity with wood as a medium. However, he didn’t truly develop a passion for woodworking until he was completing his final semester of general studies in college, he said.
Wascome originally began selling wood pieces to pay for his final semester at the University. Soon this labor of necessity became a labor of love, as he began spending more time perfecting his products, he said.
“All this isn’t too outside of what I learned growing up,” Wascome said. “I didn’t really get a passion for it until around 2009 when I was really taking the time to appreciate what I’m doing rather than being like, ‘Alright, I’m just trying to get this done.’”
Wascome Woodworks began in 2007 as a hobby Wascome’s father adopted in his retirement. Wascome’s father started selling his wooden creations at the Red Stick Farmers Market. In 2010, Wascome took the reigns.
While Wascome picked up his woodworking expertise from his father, he has also learned from trial and error and online tutorials.
“As soon as you think you have something figured out one way, you look online and there’s somebody that’s figured out a way to do it twice as fast and way more efficiently,” Wascome said.
Wascome first turns the wood with a lathe, then dries and sands it before carving and grinding the piece. He then programs a CNC computer-controlled machine to cut the wood to his liking.
The Baton Rouge native has streamlined his workflow over the years, making the process more efficient. A medium-sized bowl he used to create in three hours, he can now create in a little under an hour, he said.
However, he hasn’t compromised originality for efficiency. At the beginning of his woodworking career, he used to strive for perfect edges, trim and inlay, but over time realized people were drawn to more unique pieces with looser edges, he said.
Wascome wants customers to know his products are handmade, which is why he intentionally ensures none of his products are exactly the same — even when using a template.
“That’s probably my favorite part of it all,” Wascome said. “Even when you’re doing mass production, you have to learn how to be creative with how you do it.”
Wascome usually acquires the wood from family friends, like the owners of Marathon Tree Service Inc. and neighbors who need to get rid of trees they have chopped down, he said.
“I’ve made stuff out of pretty much every local tree I can get my hands on at this point, just to see what it’s like,” Wascome said.
With the popularity of the wooden bowties and cufflinks, Wascome wants to shift the business’s focus from kitchenware to more fashion accessories like belt buckles, watches or sunglasses in the future, he said. He also wants to eventually make abstract wooden wall art, time permitting.
“I guess there’s like that the-sky’s-the-limit kind of thing with it,” Wascome said.
LSU alumnus turns salvaged wood into functional, original pieces
By Kaylee Poche
November 7, 2017
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