Entrepreneur Spotlight: Wild Edge Woodcraft Owner, Avery Earwood
About Wild Edge Woodcraft Founder Avery Earwood
It all began as a couple wanting to leave the hustle and bustle of the city behind for a slower-paced farm lifestyle so that their three sons could learn about self-reliance. Being surrounded by the serene, natural surroundings of the North Carolina countryside planted the seed for an entrepreneurial venture that Avery Earwood now sees as his soul's work -- designing and building custom heirloom furniture. Since its inception in 2020, his Rougemont, NC company, Wild Edge Woodcraft, has garnered the attention of customers with discerning palettes looking for furniture that offers more than just functionality but is representative of such high-quality craftsmanship and an aesthetic appeal that people can’t help but congregate around these "conversational pieces” to share how it came to fruition and to merely spend quality time creating memories with loved ones.
Avery Earwood started a tree removal business soon after trading his 25-year healthcare career for a 25-acre North Carolina farm, taking down diseased, damaged, and otherwise threatened trees. He didn’t want to see those trees end up as firewood or in a landfill, though, so he began tinkering in his home workshop. He quickly found fulfillment in taking local, sustainably sourced fallen logs that were in abundance around his and his customers’ properties and turning them into something more meaningful, like heavy-duty and visually appealing residential and commercial furniture, such as coffee tables, kitchen islands, counters, bar tops, coffee and dining tables, entertainment centers, and more.
It wasn't long before Avery began experimenting with and gaining practical knowledge about sawmill cutting, kiln drying, and flattening those premium hardwood slabs before joining and finishing them into artistic masterpieces, like his trademark live-edge, epoxy river dining tables or kitchen island countertops. It’s only been three years since Avery Earwood fully left his long-term corporate career behind to deep-dive full-time into entrepreneurship. Nowadays, he runs a successful Piedmont Triad of North Carolina custom premium hardwood furniture business, Wild Edge Woodcraft, where he employs multiple talented woodworkers to help him keep pace with demand for his one-of-a-kind custom hardwood furniture pieces. He has now officially become a “woodpreneur.”
How Avery's Focus on Authenticity Led to His Successful Entrepreneurial Venture
Avery Earwood and his family's decision to pick up and move far outside city limits came as a surprise to some. They wondered how he’d weather the transition between two starkly different lifestyles that describe city versus rural life. He knew he wanted more out of life for himself and his family, though. He had the bigger picture in mind. Avery knew that he had a passion for nature, design and quality craftsmanship, and bringing families together-- interests that the fast-paced life of the big city didn't allow one to dedicate enough time to or enjoy.
As he grew his woodworking talents and others saw his art, whether in-person at a customer’s home or business or in his web portfolio, inquiries about his unique custom wood furniture increased. Avery quickly won over fans near and far because when they communicated with him, they realized how he truly has a passion for what he does. He and his Wild Edge Woodcraft team don't just rush to design and quickly build a piece of furniture for its obvious intended use, but instead construct their pieces with a purpose -- as is the case when he often takes customers' fallen walnut, oak, poplar, or maple trees and creates a dining room table around which a family can congregate, strengthening their bonds, for years to come.
At a time when customers are increasingly carefully examining how socially responsible companies that they're planning to do business with are, it's pretty evident where the entrepreneurial inclinations of Avery Earwood stand. He's committed to his company's position as an environmentally conscious brand comprised of talented artisans committed to their craft and its capacity to bring loved ones together, especially around nature.
Understanding Avery's Unique Entrepreneurial Mindset That Fuels the Growth of Wild Edge Woodcraft
Attaching a singular definition to the word entrepreneur is often hard because no two are alike. However, there are some common attributes that successful entrepreneurial individuals tend to share in common, which Avery Earwood embodies too:
- A persistent desire to take on new challenges. Entrepreneurs tend to be risk tolerant, meaning they take calculated risks. True entrepreneurs appreciate the "thrill" of pursuing new opportunities and strategizing innovative ways to turn their ideas into successful ventures.
- Being okay with uniqueness. The most successful entrepreneurs are ones who have a different perspective on life and approach to doing things from everyone else. That fresh perspective or "lens" through which an entrepreneur views what others may see as obstacles are often key to coming up with unique, much sought-after products and devising innovative strategies that eliminate some of our world's most pressing concerns.
- Caring about one's legacy. Many companies and their founders often hurry and source the most economical and readily-available raw materials to fabricate a product, and think too little about the long-term impact of their choices. Taking time to build a product that creates as limited of an environmental impact, will stand the test of time, and has a purpose -- like strengthening familial bonds -- are gifts that forward-thinking entrepreneurs can give current customers that can be passed on for generations to come.
Avery Earwood and his company, Wild Edge Woodcraft, have won over countless customers near and far thanks in part to word-of-mouth among those who have found themselves sitting around a dining room or coffee table, kitchen island, entertainment center, or lying on a mattress atop a bed frame that he and his team built. Customers have also been led to Avery’s custom furniture business through videos showcasing his woodworking talents that he’s posted on YouTube. All it takes is one conversation with someone like Avery, who has a can-do spirit, to learn that the reclaimed hardwood heirloom piece that they’ve long imagined in their dreams can come to life without breaking the bank. Avery's magnetic attraction to doing his soul's work and helping others find that comforting connection to nature and home drives him to be the creative, heart-centered entrepreneur that is doing his part to change how business is done.