WHITE SALMON — After a storm gusts through the Gorge, Peter Ely dirt bikes through Washington’s forest backroads in search of fallen wood to salvage and repurpose. With it, he creates one-of-a-kind wood pieces through traditional carving and woodturning techniques.
“I’m always on the hunt for cherry,” Ely said, adding that he frequently looks for maple and walnut hardwoods as well.
Over the years, Ely has been crafting pieces as a self-taught woodworker with, what he calls, storm and urban wood salvaging. He first moved to White Salmon in 2016 in pursuit of whitewater kayaking working as a raft guide in the summers and ski tech in the winters. In 2023, Ely officially turned his woodworking hobby into a business and began Pete’s Good Wood.
A collection of functional kitchenware by Peter Ely.
Andrew Boyle photo
“I wanted to take a step back from raft guiding full-time and pursue something in my own time,” Ely said, adding that he hopes woodworking will lead to a different path than seasonal jobs. “The right studio space for the right price popped up and I just said why not? Let’s give it a shot.”
Through Pete’s Good Wood, Ely sells hand-carved spoons, wood-turned bowls, charcuterie boards, rolling pins, butcher blocks, kickstands and other functional ware. Many of the goods he makes are kitchen or food-derived, since his initial pieces were given as gifts to his sister and mom, who are both chefs.
“I really enjoy making stuff for them to use,” Ely said. “The more I made and the more I started posting [on Facebook], the more that people kind of became aware of it and the demand seemed to go up and up. The intention behind it wasn’t to do it as a business, it was more for thoughtful gift giving, but I like working with wood more than anything else I do.”
Being self-taught, Ely often tries out different techniques using a trial-and-error method. Not all the results turned out as anticipated — he pointed to the first bowl he ever turned on a lathe, a machine tool that carves wood blocks at high speeds.
A black walnut wood turned bowl carved by Peter Ely.
Andrew Boyle photo
“After spending a couple of hours shaping the inside of the bowl, I turned all the way through the bottom of it. So it was just the walls of a bowl. It didn’t have a bottom to it,” Ely said. “I learn as I go and try to make something a little bit better every single time.”
The most popular item he now makes is the black walnut charcuterie board with a hand-carved handle; the first iteration began as a gift to his mom.
“That [handle] was really what kind of piqued my interest in carving,” Ely said. “I had a lot of fun shaping it freehand with knives and learning the traditional way of carving that I began to wonder what else I could carve.”
A black walnut charcuterie board with a hand carved handle by Peter Ely.
Andrew Boyle photo
After researching different techniques Ely found himself drawn to the Swedish style of spoon carving, a traditional method that whittles out the finished product from a block of wood. With additional carving tools, he began learning the art, “one splinter at a time.”
The spoons turned into a passion project for Ely, who noted he’ll often have a bag of wood in his car to carve or whittle during his free time. For Ely, carving was another way to find the flow state — a feeling also experienced while running rivers in a whitewater kayak.
”It’s so easy to pass hours and hours and hours of time carving without even realizing it because you just get into this flow state mindset where you’re just kind of grooving with it,” Ely said. “If you’re not constantly adjusting and reading the woodgrain like you would a river, and working with the natural flow of the piece that you’re working on, then it just simply won’t work.”
A collection of functional kitchenware by Peter Ely.
Andrew Boyle photo
Going forward, Ely plans to take it one day at a time in growing his business. “If the demand gets to the point where I can comfortably work full time for myself, that would be the dream,” he said.
Currently, Pete’s Good Wood pieces are for sale at The Dee Mill in Hood River, where Ely also purchases hardwood needed for larger and specific pieces.
To reach out about other items for sale or inquire about a custom order, email petesgoodwood@gmail.com or keep up to date with future trade shows on instagram @petesgoodwood.
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