Shipping and Returns

• All items are shipped via USPS.

• No returns for prints.

• Returns are permitted for woodworking within 30 days from the date of the sale. Shipping will not be refunded and you must pay for return shipping.

FAQs

• What is mokuhanga? Mokuhanga is a traditional Japanese printing technique. It uses non-toxic water based pigments and hand printing.

• Do you get a kick back or commission from the products you use/name? No. I include the name of the products I use to make things for your information only. I want to be fully transparent so that you can verify my claims of safety and sustainability.

• How do I care for the wood spoon, dish, etc…? All items should be gently hand washed only. None of the items should have prolonged exposure to liquid. Currently I use two types of finishes on wood items: either (1) Osmo polyx hard wax on dishes and tortilla presses, or (2) tung oil on spoons, stirrers, and spatulas. The hard wax should last a very long time without issues. But it is very slightly porous so it can be stained or allow liquid entry after prolonged exposure (e.g. if you leave a dish full of olives overnight the brine will probably stain the wood). It will take a long time and a lot of use before tung oil wears off a piece. Tung oil can be easily and safely reapplied whenever it wears off from use.

• Are all of the items food safe? Yes. Being safe, nontoxic, and sustainable are priorities for me. The wood I use for table and serve ware is itself non-toxic. The wood finishes are safe and biodegradable. I do you use PVA (wood) glue to make butcher block, joins, or repair of cracks, splits, and filling beetle holes. PVA glue is food safe but not biodegradable. I am actively trying to get a more sustainable wood glue but current, viable options are limited.

• Do you do custom work or customize the things you sell? I am open to try. Contact me where is says "Contact Maker", your vision and we can figure it out. It may mean that the thing you want costs a bit more and takes longer to make.

• Why are your things so expensive? I put the question back to you: what does expensive mean? You can buy a wooden spoon made or distributed by a big corporation for an outrageously low price. But they obtain this price in large part by externalizing costs. This might mean destroying endangered habitat for raw material, using cheap coal power in manufacture, or exploiting child labor in unregulated places. So you will pay a low upfront cost, but you (and subsequent generations) will also pay a very high long term cost to mitigate the externalities. Everything I make has my hands on it and involves a lot of work. That can include processing the raw material: picking up a disposed tree trunk, drying it, rough sawing it, milling it, all before starting the work of making the final piece. I try to do all of this in a thoughtful, caring, sustainable way. I have very limited identified externalities. So the cost listed is as close as I can get to the real cost.