We've been making sawdust; and log beds with chainsaw carved bears!

Wow what a summer! I can't believe the leaves are already changing. Joe reminded me today that I haven't blogged since our fist chainsaw carving class of the season. We've had several students come and learn with us and even some who have come back to show off their work and learn more. It's really cool to see how far they have come.

We've been making sawdust by the ton. Joe's been busy with on site carvings everywhere from Rochester to Brainerd. He was in Hackensack this past weekend for the annual Chainsaw Carving Event and featured on the front page of the Brainerd Dispatch which was very cool to see and there was word on the street that he was on TV.

 Joe has some orders for some very cool things that I'm excited to paint. It's nice to do some different things. We've been making bear beds around here all summer. Each one Joe carves is cooler than the last one. Now he does it so one of the bear butts is sticking out of the side of the log. The one that is in the shop ready for me to paint has his butt and toes poking out. It's so cute. We are shipping that one to New York when it's all done.

Here is a picture of one we have ready to go and is in our Etsy Shop

We will be adding to our Etsy shop as we create new things. Chris and I are excited about all the new ideas we have to build. Especially for our Holiday Open House! That has to be one of my most favorite times of year. I love getting our little shop all dressed up for Christmas. It's so warm and inviting. Mmm I can smell the spiced apple cider already. I'm going to have gift baskets and offer wrapping as well- I just have to get the dang office cleaned out so I have somewhere to do it. More updates as we get closer!

As always you can see what Joe is up to by following us on Facebook too!

First Chainsaw Carving Class of the season!

Today is day 3 of our first chainsaw carving class of 2013. When you wait until May to host an outdoor class you'd think that the weather would be on your side. Nope, good ol' Mother Nature still has her undies in bunch. We've had crazy wind, rain, and some spittin' snow these last couple days. I have to say I am pretty impressed with the students though. They are handing the cold like champs. We've got a mix of people too, which I always like to see. We've got a really sweet gal from Illinois here carving, she's actually never really used a chainsaw except to trim a few branches, then there is guy who we know through our business from up north, he works with wood all the time but has never carved anything, and then a super nice older fellow who is retired, he attitude is so refreshing- he says at his age why can't he do it?! That's right, why can't you... It's never to late to learn anything I say. And Joe always says if you really want to figure it out, you will. These students have been out here carving for 8 hours a day in the cold; they really want to figure it out. They carved some bears the first two days of class and last night got started on carving some eagles. They are working on detailing them up right now. The last day of class is always one of the coolest. You watch the carvers load up their carvings and saws all full of smiles at what they have accomplished in the short time they were here. I will update our carving class page with our next class soon!

It's all white- again!

Just when we were thinking we would be able to shut down the woods stove and start sanding and spraying outside, it's back. The white stuff. This winter has to be the longest one of my life. Lets face it, your sick of the snow and you probably work inside. Now try and carve in the blowing wind and snow- IN APRIL! It's enough to make anyone want to throw the saw in and head for warmer weather. We've got smud, smud everywhere! (that would be snow and mud if you were wondering). I Saw It In Minnesota started this month out in the wonderful city of Duluth for the home show up there. We had a huge booth and brought 3 truck and trailers full of stuff. I don't know how many people realise how much work it is when you are a vendor at one of these shows. We met a lot of really great people though- customers and vendors alike. We debuted Joe's mother wolf carving there.

People really seemed to like it. We also sold a lot of our cedar log swing and bear combo's since they are on sale. Although the people who ordered them probably thought they would be using them by APRIL 19th. All this shoveling has really gotten to us I think. Joe's been giving away stuff on Facebook. Now he is giving away the cutest little red cedar bear on May 1st to someone who likes our page. The last couple winners were so thrilled. We sent an eagle out to one winner in California last week for the April drawing. My hope for May 1st is 70 degrees and sunshine, who am I kidding? I'd be happy as long as there were no snow....

Winter Chainsaw Carving; never a season of rest

With winter finally winding down I wonder where those slow days went... There was like 5, maybe. Often times people ask if we are open during the winter. People are surprised that is is our full time job. It's true I haven't meet too many people who carve for a living; Dennis Rogair, Joe's son Ben, and a hand full of others. We are here rain or shine, heck both Joe and I even made it to work during a snow storm the other morning. We were thinking winter would be a good time to get caught up on things take it easy for a while after the craziness of summer. Ah but how soon we forget that after summer is Christmas order time and then oh! A week of quiet bliss after new years and then here we go again. The late winter/early spring we do a few home shows. It's nice because we get to meet some very nice people and it's something a little different. Joe and Ben worked on building this really great rustic pergola with carvings on it to take to the show. Here is a picture Joe took at the St. Paul Home and Patio Show.

We have it outside our store right now, full of snow of course. On one post there is an eagle perched and under it(you can't really see it in the picture)a nest, then on one of the horizontals you can see a bear poking his head out of a log, and there is also a raccoon looking out of one of the other logs. My personal favorite is the bear walking across the top.  We also got our bar done for the show, it was a very popular item getting many compliments. Here are some pictures of it that we took in the shop right after it was built.

As you can see from the pictures it has some amazing features. The flair base logs on the corners and the y logs on the back side supporting the top. The backside has an opening for a refrigerator and and a cabinet with shelves.

It seems that our busy season has already started around here. Joe is carving like crazy on orders, which is fine because it's been to cold for him to carve on the big cedar tree lately. Soon he is going to start working on this cute carving for a customer- two bear cubs playing felled birch tree. Guess who was the lucky one that got to go climbing through 3 feet of snow to get us a tree? Yep that would be me, with the help of my ever handy and easily bribed(with cookies) husband. He really helps me and Joe out a lot. We appreciate all the running around to help with deliveries and home shows that he does for us.

As for the store we are working as always to fill it with unique things. We just got some more super cute acorn stools! I love how each one is a little different. I brought one home and kids think it's great. A cute functional decoration. Our bear beds have been very popular lately as well. If you've ever worked retail you'll notice that things sell in waves- one week this is hot then the next it's this. 

Joe has been quite liberal with the picture postings on Face book these days. If our page I Saw It In Mn, llc can get to 2000 likes by April first he is giving away a bear and an eagle.  As o f the time of this post we are at 1265. That is an average of about 30 a day, I think we will make it. I'm going to paint them tomorrow and Joe is going to post the pictures on our face book page.

Chainsaw Carving an Eagle: Taking a step back

The frigidness of the Minnesota winter has return full force here at I Saw It In Minnesota. Joe worked on his huge eagle carving for a few days while it was warmer. He wanted to have it done in a few weeks but if this weather keeps up it might be the end of March before it gets there. Once April comes we have a whole host of things that will keep us busy, including our first chainsaw carving class that is scheduled to start the 11th.

I enjoy watching the progress of our students. It seems when they first arrive they are shy and tentative, but after a day of being around Joe they really open up. Joe isn't a grumpy teacher and he really is good at sharing his knowledge in way that is engaging while being easy going. He is able to connect with them and once the students open up its great to see the enthusiasm as they start working on their first bears and eagles. Joe is very particular about taking a step back and looking at your work to really make sure things are in proportion and going the right way, and he passes that along to his students. I think its a very important skill we can all learn in our own lives. When you think things are getting rough take a step back and evaluate. I do have to admit that I am a bit jealous that they are learning such a unique art. I'm always listening, about everything, so if I'm lucky and someday get to pick up a saw I can put his words to good use. The last group of students that came through our school left with some great carvings they had made themselves and ear to ear grins.

As Joe focuses on getting some inventory built up for spring he also has this new obsession gaining facebook likes to our fan page. He even decided to give away a bear carving when we hit 1000 likes. I think that has something to do with not being able to work on his large eagle carving. He has been doing a lot of looking at it though. The last he worked on it he got quite a bit done. He took out a section of the log between the two eagles to make it look like the tree y's. Joe also sculpted the shape of the tree about another 5 feet down. Here is a pair of pictures, one is from the front and the other from the underside so you can get an idea of width of the wing span. I couldn't get a good picture of the backside of the carving with the sun where it was, but Joe has carved an adult owl perched and then a baby owl in a hole in it. The log you see sticking out from the main part of the tree will be one of two that will support an eagle's nest that will probably have a baby eagle in it that Joe carved from a part of the tree he cut away. Maybe now that the sun isn't so bright I can go and brave the cold and snap a picture of it, maybe, I'm really cold. I'll probably just go get some hot chocolate and tweak our website. If you want to see pictures of this from earlier you can view them all here.

 While we wait out this cold spell Joe and Ben are working on this really great log entrance for our booth at the Home and Patio show at the St. Paul Rivercentre Feb 14th through the 17th and also a home show we are going to be doing in Duluth in the first week of April. If your in the area you will have to come and see it. Joe carved a bear poking it's head our of the end of one of the logs and it is adorable. There was talk about a bear hanging over the top of the log and another one climbing up the side of it. We pack for the show in 12 days so we will see how far we get. The great thing about it is that we can always add to it.

And the show goes on!

It was a foggy start this morning but the warmer weather has been well received. Ben and Joe have been carving all day. The western red cedar has become Joe's main focus. I took some pictures this morning while he was up on the lift to give you an idea of massive this eagle is at the top. As you can see in the picture he has started adding some branches to the left side of the eagle. I took this picture earlier this morning, before lunch. He has added another eagle and a branch to hold a nest. This is Joe and his trusty Stihl. I heard those have the fastest breaks on the market and that is why so many carvers use them. I'll do some research on that and get back to you. Anyway  this carving is starting to look amazing! I put some pictures of it on our facebook page. It's to dark to take anymore pictures today. I'll try and get some in the morning if the weather works with me. We are busy here working on some really great projects.  We are doing a log bed similar to this but it's going to have a bear carved on each corner. 

Cold Carving

At I Saw It In Minnesota the thermometer might say it's warmer but the wind doesn't make if feel any better. The sunshine has brought the carvers spirits around and both Joe and Ben were carving today. Personally I think they're crazy, I went to help Ben with something out by the highway and thought I was going to turn into a popsicle. Really though the wind has been crazy here the past week or so. Joe started this carving

a few weeks ago. It's going to be amazing when it's done. This tree is a western red cedar we had shipped in from Washington State. It was a whole when it was brought here but as you can see it fell apart. This tree is about 20 feet tall. If you look closely the wings have all of the detail in them and soon the eagle will too. When it's done the eagle will look something like this  . The rest of the tree is going to be full of carvings as well. I believe Joe said something about adding a nest and and another eagle and some bears. I'm going to take pictures as he goes, like a photo journal of the carving. One of the last large carving Joe did a gal out in California purchased. Shipping on it wasn't even that terrible. The people that have come by the shop seem to think this eagle is pretty cool so far. It's just been to windy out here lately to get up on the lift to do more carving. The 10 day forecast shows there might be some good weather on Monday or Tuesday. Today they were carving under the awning. I snapped a few pictures of them really quick, they aren't the best pictures but it gives you an idea anyway

 Ben is working on an eagle and Joe is doing custom order for an owl. I can tell you the only good thing about this weather its easier to take phone calls when the windows are closed with all the chainsaw noise. Sometimes I go to bed and all I hear in my head is rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrRRRrrrrRRrr.

A cold winters day

As January comes to an end we find ourselves fighting that old man winter with all our might. Being up here in the frozen tundra we at I Saw It In Minnesota had all we could do to find a little warmth. The only sawing that happened today was to cut more wood for the stove! The cold has slowed us all down. Nobody likes to be cold. In fact I've heard more than a few times around here that we hate it. For the last few weeks the guys have been busy trying to build up our summer stock so that they can focus on the custom carvings requests that come very year. Eventually someone will want Joe to come and carve at a place that will take him away from here for a few days and having that extra stock on hand is always nice. We've been doing quite a few of these bears lately, some standing and some sitting. Watching someone carve really gives you an insight into how they think. One of my favorite things is when they surprise me. There have been a few times when I think I know what Joe is carving and something totally different comes off the blade of his saw. We are getting ready for the Home and Patio Show and I am very excited for the new bar we are going to be showcasing! I was honored to bring our log fireplace surround to the Sportsman Show this year and it was a showstopper. We also brought a log bed that Joe had carved bears into the four posts. People really seemed to like it. I believe this bar will really be beautiful as well. We discussed several options for tops, including some inlayed bear tracks, a drink rail built into a slab top, a two toned maple slab top and the possibility of a barn wood top(oh barn wood you are my favorite!) also using mixed woods for the sides, a look that is at the top of the To Do's in home design these days, which I started about 4 years ago- I'm so ahead of the curve. I'm very excited to see the final project and will be sure to post a picture when it's done.

Written By:
Elijah