In late 2019, we had an opportunity to buy a few acres alongside the upper Pithlachascotee River, known affectionately by locals as “the Cotee,” in New Port Richey, Florida. It is here that we reside, with our woodworking shop, a cat named Cypress and a dog named Cedar. The jungly woods surrounding the river are full of owls, raccoons, Sable palms, pignut hickory, bay magnolia, wild coffee, poison ivy, and the occasional river otter. Formerly the home of the Cotee River Lions Club, the property also boasts boardwalks and trails through the woods.

JR has been building furniture, salvaging materials, and working with wood for much of the last four decades. He was a commercial tile setter for 30 years in Pennsylvania and Florida, while also renovating old buildings, running a bed and breakfast and later a restaurant. He loves old woodworking power tools, buying, selling, and trading them across the eastern U.S.

Laura is a third-generation Floridian who grew up nearby on a cattle ranch. She shares her love of Florida’s natural beauty having founded in 2016 one of the few conservation cemeteries in the country, Heartwood Preserve in Trinity FL. JR assists with the burials at Heartwood as burial crew leader, and has firsthand experience with green burials since 2019. Having served over 500 families in the first 7 years with their pre-planning and at need burial services, Laura discovered there is a limited variety of natural burial containers on the market, and none were locally made.