Southern Indiana Business March-April 2020 | Page 18

COVER STORY
owner of Treasures by Travis and another
longtime Bonesteel customer. “I’ll be
doing something and I’ll start laughing,
because I’m doing it exactly the way my
grandfather told me to do it when I was 8
years old.”
THE BUSINESS OF DIY
When the Bonesteels moved to the area,
they discovered that for woodworking
hobbyists like themselves, the options for
buying small amounts of lumber were few
and far between. So, in the true DIY spirit
that would be their guiding philosophy for
the next decade, they decided to grow their
own. On just over 60 acres of land up in
Paris Crossing, Indiana, they log, mill and
dry their own wood before bringing it to
their shop in Sellersburg to sell.
“For a lot of hobbyists their projects are
smaller, they don’t need a lot of wood,”
said Tina Bonesteel. “But you can come
in here and just choose one board you
love. We don’t have any minimums. Most
places you can’t do that.”
In addition to watching the lumber
go out the door, they also get to see the
finished pieces when customers bring
them back in. On a recent Friday morning,
Travis and his wife brought in a handful of
bowls made using Bonesteel wood to show
them off. Travis marveled at the beautiful,
dark cherry wood that the Bonesteels
are able to grow, and they likewise were
impressed with his creations.
It’s something of a mutual admiration
society. And if you ask their loyal
customers, the Bonesteels might be the
area’s top experts on all things wood. After
one customer stopped by the shop to buy
wood, he called back to say thanks. “He
said, ‘I learned more about woodworking
spending 20 minutes with Tina than I have
in the last 20 years,’” Roger Bonesteel
said.
A GROWING MAKER COMMUNITY
Where the Bonesteels filled a need for
supplying materials to DIYers in Southern
Indiana, the community has provided a
place for makers to make. And it’s not just
for woodworkers.
When the machines at Maker 13
in Jeffersonville’s burgeoning arts
Charlestown resident, Gary Sowder, looks through an assortment of lumber in preparation for his next DIY project. He enjoys woodworking as a hobby
and enjoys building bed frames for his grandchildren.
18
March / April 2020