Wood Turning with KM Wood Designs

Have you ever seen some of KM Wood Designs exquisite pens or rings and wonder about the story behind it? Or wondered what some of the wood is that they have created their beautiful pieces with? Continue reading for more about KM Wood Designs, some advice for new woodworkers, different woods KM Wood Designs has used and more!

What gave you the idea/inspiration to start KM Wood Designs?

I just started turning, sharing what I turned, and people started buying. So I decided to formalize everything into a business side hustle.

How did you get started in woodworking/woodturning and creating jewelry and pens?

Woodworking is just something I always wanted to do, and woodturning came at my wife’s suggestion. I started creating collector-quality pens first, but then added in the jewelry. I started making the rings because I wanted a way to memorialize loved ones. This became important to me particularly after my dad passed. I have also turned larger pieces, such as bowls, but I keep coming back to the smaller pieces. I’ve recently added in keyrings, bookmarks, and even crochet hooks and seam rippers.

How do you choose the woods you work with?

I choose the woods to work with based on the beauty of the grain and the overall look of the wood.

What’s your favorite wood to work with?

My favorite wood to work with is Lignum Vitae, or Tree of Life, because the aroma is so pleasantly fragrant as I turn it, and it lingers in my wood shop throughout the day.

What’s the most exotic woods you’ve worked with and what did you make? Would you use it again?

I work with a variety of exotic woods continually with many of the items I turn. Amboyna Burl is perhaps the most exotic I’ve worked with so far. I used the Amboyna Burl to create my first exhibition-quality fountain pen, and I would use it again. In fact, I have.

How do you choose the pieces you create – ie is there something that you take inspiration from when you start a piece?

This may sound a little crazy, but the wood will tell you what to do with it. There may be a natural flaw, or you may create one, but you just roll with it and create what you can anyway.

What is your favorite type of piece (piece of jewelry, pen, etc) to create?

My favorite pieces to create are the pens.

What is a piece that you have wanted to make but haven’t yet?

I’d like to make a Bespoke fountain pen but haven’t just yet. A Bespoke pen is a freeform pen, created more fluidly than that of the standard.

What would you tell a new woodworker for encouragement?

I would advise them to have patience first. The old adages of “practice makes perfect” and “safety first” definitely apply. I would also encourage them to keep trying, even if their turnings turn out unsatisfying at first.

What is something you are passionate about and why?

I am passionate about making lasting memories for people with the work I do. That is what motivates me to keep going. When I make a memorial ring or pendant for someone, for example, and they are moved to tears when they receive it because it is beautiful and special to them, that is the best feeling in the world to me.

How has COVID changed or impacted your vision/strategy?

Because of the COVID situation, I’ve had to work through delays in material and supplies shipments, which was especially trying during the holiday season. Also, there were no vendor shows, which made networking and product sales through that route essentially non-existent.

What is something that has helped you get through during this global pandemic? Something encouraging or positive?

My day job is at one of the local healthcare facilities. Being in the shop on my days off and turning wood on the lathe is truly therapeutic for me. The stress of my day job can get pretty high at times and tuning out from it all by focusing on the beauty of the grain coming through as I turn helps manage that.

If you had one (or several) things to share with an entrepreneur, what would it be? What would you encourage them about?

One thing I would share is to be open minded and to try and think about things beyond “the norm.” You never know what you can create if you really want to, and you might be surprised to discover where some of your customers actually are.

What is a lesson learned from being an entrepreneur that you wish someone else had told you when you first started?

It’s important to be able to communicate the value of your product or service to your market. They may not know how what you have or do can be of benefit to them until you tell them.

Fun question – if you could meet one person in history or present, who would it be and why?

I’d like to have met my paternal great-grandfather. He was a cabinet maker, and I would have like to have learned from him.

What is your dream for KM Wood Designs to be (where do you see KM Wood Designs in 5+ years)?

I am hoping to grow KM Wood Designs enough that it can be a viable supplement to my retirement income.

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Seeing KM Wood Designs discuss all the amazing woods there are in the world to work with, I've compiled a list of articles below (in no means is it exhaustive) to look specifically at the different types of exotic woods that can be used in woodworking, woodcarving, or carpentry. If there are other posts I should add or if you have a maker you want to recommend for a feature, please send me an email or comment below and I’ll add them.

Rare and Exotic Wood Guide by Build with Rise is a list of different types of rare and exotic woods and what they can be used for in our homes and more. The list includes some names that are familiar like Ebony while others like Leopard Wood may not be as familiar in the main stream but is unique and beautiful.

The Most Expensive Wood in the World by Ligno is all about which wood is the most expensive, why and what it can be used for if you want to find it. The list ranges from Grenadil (African Blackwood) to Agar Wood, Ebony, Pink Ivory, Purple Heart, and more.

The Ten Best Woods You’ve Never Heard of by Wood Database lists out ten of the least common woods as well as where you can find them, why you may love them and why you’ve not heard about them. You can also find a book of over 500 woods with details of each type of wood to include where they are found, their hardness in Janka, global and regional rankings.

Cook Woods - 8 of their 250+ species of wood available at their shop in the USA.

Cook Woods is a great website to browse through their 250+ species of wood to see what wood of all types cost, what’s available, and to get ideas for projects. Their blog also discusses different exotic woods in more details.

You can also find a full list of woods and pieces on Etsy that you can use to carve or woodwork any number of projects.

Thank you for joining us on this interview with KM Wood Designs and thank you Kevin for the interview opportunity. If you have a maker you recommend for a feature or want to share what you have from KM Wood Designs please email me or comment below. Have a wonderful day my friend!