Beautiful. Decadent, strong, long lasting…and USEFUL. I first came across Pete Raho’s, Gowanus Furniture Co. when I caught myself drooling over his handcrafted wood cutting boards. Wanting to know more about the genius behind these simplistically sleek treasures, I found this on his site:

“We shouldn't live with disposable furniture. We should live with things we want to live with. We can have well-designed, locally-made products that are a good value and will last through successive moves to new homes.”

I wanted one bad. But I wanted to be a part of it, too! I discovered that Pete offers you a sneak peek into his world with the opportunity to design and make your very own custom cutting board! Pete hosts his Custom Cutting Board Class on Friday evenings from 7-10pm in Gowanus. If working in the woodshop isn’t your thing, come sip wine, eat charcuterie and watch your partner drill and sand away. You’ll love the intimate setting with cool folks from different walks of life and a chance to tap Pete’s brain about making what you love a full time gig. For a flavor on what fuels his passion, check out his TedX Gowanus talk:

“Theres’s a meaning, there’s a reason there’s a story behind it. It’s all about conversation it's all about connecting people. It’s all about bringing people together.”

“Cities matter. Location matters. Cities are these engines of creativity where you have all these like-minded folks who want to come in and make stuff and disrupt the world for the better. Art isn’t created in a vacuum.”

Sign up for Pete's Custom Cutting Board Class here. Or if you want to snatch up one of these crafted beauties on the fly, swing by the Brooklyn Flea or head right down Smith Street to our friend Gaia’s shop, By Brooklyn. Enjoy and thanks Pete for helping us create our little beauty!