M.D. Bair Woodcarving Studio

Mark Bair left the corporate world in 2009 to follow his passion for woodcarving. He’s never looked back.

“I’ve always had a love for art and working with my hands,” says Mark. “I love working with wood, but really enjoy what found objects can bring to my pieces…I consider myself a wood sculptor/mixed media artist.”

Each of Mark’s unique pieces starts out as a block of wood and an idea. He then creates a foundation using traditional hand carving tools. At that point, he merges in salvaged items such as roofing copper, architectural elements or vintage hardware. Acrylics and oils bring his work to life and antiquing each piece marries it with the salvaged items and gives it a historical feel.

“Adding items with a past life makes each piece a special, never-to-be-duplicated work of art,” he says.

Shutters and Sand

Karee Foley describes what she and business partner Amy Jaros do as “creating art by painting and transforming furniture.” Together the duo is Shutters and Sand, a six-year-old business based in West Chester, PA.

Shutters and Sand sells hand painted vintage furniture, decorative home goods and other unique items, many of which would fit it perfectly at a beach house. Their creative process is simple – start with sturdy, antique pieces that may be a bit tired and transform them into new, stand-out pieces using fresh hardware, fun fabrics and chalk paint.

“We hand pick every piece for its age, originality and function…we don’t just buy anything,” says Karee. “We love what we do and to have someone buy our furniture and love it just as much as we do is icing on the cake.”