My name is Melissa Alice.

In 2018 I carved my first wooden spoon. As far back as I can remember I’ve had a deep love for wooden spoons. I find them endlessly useful, and unquestionably charming. A crock full of wooden spoons sitting offside a stovetop never fails to pull my gaze.

I saw that they became more beautiful as you used them, with every meal cooked, with every batch of cookies made, they took on a lovely patina that only your spoon would have, they became truly and uniquely yours.

When I had become the age where my friends began to marry, I thought a beautiful wooden spoon could make a wonderful wedding gift. When you plan to spend the rest of your life with someone, you fundamentally are also committing to spend a great deal of time in the kitchen cooking together, (at least, I believe that is a great thing to do with the love of your life). I thought a hand crafted wooden spoon alongside a bottle of wine, or perhaps a beautiful cookbook would be a really thoughtful gift.

I wanted to find a wooden spoon to gift that was unique and handcrafted. After being unable to find what I had my heart set on, I decided that I would try to make my own.

Armed with only two hand tools and a highly ineffective scroll saw, I made first cooking spoon. It was clunky and awkward, but resulted in my falling completely in love with the process of carving. My tool arsenal has increased substantially, as has my love of carving.

I have no idea how many hundreds (maybe more?) of spoons, coffee scoops, butter knives etcetera that I’ve made by now. Many have been gifted out to friends and family, some live in my own kitchen, many have been tossed cathartically into a wood stove. My goal however, has always been the same; to craft beautiful, useful wooden smallwares that may find their way into the homes of people who love to cook, bake, or maybe brew exceptional coffee, and that these wares will enhance these everyday rituals, and that they will get better with age and loving use, and if I were to be so bold as to say, be passed down a generation or two.