Educational Resources

Podcasts

Work-life balance - with Matt Mimnagh

Episode Summary Will Sampson talks about balancing the pressures and rewards of work and life outside work. His guest is Matt Mimnagh, a woodworker from North Carolina who took the unorthodox step of making his business smaller to make it better for him.

Wood Explorer

Western spruces: Englemann and Sitka have similar properties

Two major spruces are found in the western forests of the United States. Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii) is found throughout the Rocky Mountains, from Alberta to Arizona. It’s named after George Englemann, who discovered this species in the mid-1800s. Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) is found primarily within 50 miles of the Pacific Coast, from Alaska to northern California. The name comes from Sitka Island, where the tree was discovered in 1892; Sitka spruce is also Alaska’s state tree.

Podcasts

What happened to the family business - with Nick Stoltzfus

Episode Summary Will Sampson muses about how difficult it is to maintain a family business in today’s economy. His guest is Nick Stoltzfus, president of Keystone Wood Specialties, a manufacturer of wood products for cabinetry in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Nick recently took over management of the company from his late father and founder of Keystone, Sam Stoltzfus.

Wood Explorer

Brazilian rosewood: Highly prized but highly restricted

Brazilian rosewood, also called jacaranda, is perhaps one of the most beautiful woods in the world. However, extensive harvesting over the past three centuries has virtually eliminated this tree from the Brazilian forests, so that today it is not supposed to be harvested. The only material that can be sold legally is old stock; such material has to display a CITES Certificate, noting special approval. As might be expected, the wood is expensive.