Craig Smith has a mission to inspire hospitality with creativity. Working with wood, resin, and pewter, Craig creates works of art that people that little extra incentive to gather friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers in their homes. We’re often hesitant to invite others into our houses because they’re just a bit messy, the kids are a little crazy, the dog keeps shedding, etc. But hospitality matters. Gathering is good. So if people have a one-of-a-kind bowl or vase, an end table or a charcuterie board that they’re excited to show off, maybe they can get past the barrier and just make the invite. And when the guests have gone, they’ll realize that no one noticed the house or the kids, they only remember being together (and maybe that really cool piece of wood art, too!).
Craig began his woodworking journey out of necessity. As a youth pastor in a small church, he and his wife, Coletta, often had large groups of kids in their home for dinner. They needed a very large dining room table, but couldn’t afford to buy one the size they needed. They prayed for God to provide and He delivered: in the form of a contact who offered a large pile of rough cut Oak lumber.
With old, cheap, and borrowed tools, Craig set to work figuring out how to make a table. That table served as the center of their dining room for decades and began his love affair with wood.
Today, Craig’s wood art centers primarily around unique, gallery-quality bowls and vases, though he does accept occasional commissions on live-edge tables and other kinds of furniture.