Our Story

We started our family owned woodworks company after founder and craftsman Skipper T Smith spent decades making gifts and commissions for family, friends and close colleagues. But it took some twists and turns for us to get here.

Cooking has always been a passion for Skipper. As a young adult, he pursued cooking as a prep cook, pantry chef and line cook in a fine dining restaurant where he learned many techniques on how to prepare, cook and serve food.

Skipper’s professional path turned as he was drawn to learning and mastering the craft of woodworking and furniture making. While three years of classical training at furniture making school amplified Skipper’s passion for fine woodworking, furniture making jobs were scarce. So Skipper continued his professional journey in construction and as a general contractor working on carpentry and residential projects big and small. Always fascinated with aviation and how things work, he also received his A&P certification as an aircraft mechanic and worked as an aircraft technician along the way.

Throughout more than twenty years of his carpentry and contracting experience, Skipper kept coming back to woodworking and building custom projects “on the side.” With a love of food almost equal to his love of working with wood, and fueled by not finding a board out there that satisfied his needs, Skipper became particularly determined to optimize his cutting boards for stand-out quality, purposeful functionality and distinctive visual appeal.

After years of honing his designs, a lot of valuable feedback along the way, and so many folks asking us where they can buy the boards, we decided to commit to a family business and go all in.

Skipper most enjoys creating wood products that address common needs but that also look uniquely beautiful. He is drawn to combining technical process, technology and attention to detail to create wood designs that honor the art of woodworking and that are a joy to use in your home.

A great day for us is hearing our customers ask “How did you do that?” Or, “Why hasn’t someone thought of this before?!?” Curiosity has always driven Skipper to explore combining woodworking techniques with utilitarian and visually interesting design. He loves the challenge of applying technically complex process to build beautiful and practical pieces that will stand the test of time.

We want to fill a gap in the market for those who desire heirloom quality but who are also looking for fresh, innovative design with purpose - a unique blend of form and function.

Our goal is for you to view our designs as fine furniture for your kitchen.

The STS Kraftworks Family