Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Lainey Mullane. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Lainey, appreciate you joining us today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

For me, the essence of this profession has been all about taking risks. Some are big and some are small in comparison, but I’ve come to learn that all are there to teach. I took a rather large risk at the beginning of 2025 when I decided to take this business from a part-time hobby into a full-blown operation (out of my poorly insulated single-car garage space). It was equal parts exhilarating and terrifying–having the freedom to create and conduct business however I best saw fit, while simultaneously feeling terrified that no one would want to purchase my work and that I would spend the year in a downward money-bleeding spiral.

I’m here to say, one year later, that I did have many moments of spiraling, and that my first year of business was in fact not very profitable from a money standpoint. Most of the projects I willingly took on this year were projects I had no experience in creating yet; leading me towards completely uncharted territory. Including but not limited to: multiple epoxy mishaps, ruined finishes, broken tools, and me scratching my head thinking, “I thought this was going to be easier and more fun”. I eventually came to view these spiral moments more like slingshot moments. Big pivotal moments in my work that stretched me to the point I thought I could not be stretched any further, only then to be released and launched further forward into new opportunities, new ways of thinking, creating, and new patterns of growth. I had so many slingshot moments this year, and I quickly learned that I needed the discomfort of the stretch to have the resulting growth I was truly seeking.

I’ve grown literally, in the tools and materials I’ve acquired (which seem to be shrinking my already tight space), but the growth I’m most proud of is internal. It has been my ability to persist when I didn’t really want to, to take the risk and see it all the way through, good or bad, profitable or not. To meet myself in the thick of that risk and still find a way to dance in the face of uncertainty. To meet myself with more love, more laughter, more curiosity, more confidence, and less rigidity.

I think we all know that we need to take risks in order to really grow. But the hardest part becomes meeting yourself in the dead center of that “stretch”, in the thick of that discomfort. That spot where it would be easier to just turn back and go out the same way you came in; back towards the familiar, the reasonable, the sane. No one would blame you. No one would know that you didn’t try to really give it your all. No one would know that you let the fear and the doubt push you away from the beauty that lies just on the other side of the discomfort. In those moments, when it’s just you with you, how you choose to meet yourself makes all the difference. You create the conditions you operate from and the lens you view things through. You can create the fun and the play in your work, as well as the grit and resiliency to see it all through. It is up to you, how you use it all.

What I’ve come to learn in business and in life, “You can’t rush the bud, or you’ll wreck the bloom.”

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I love connecting into the heart and soul of a good story. Growing up I loved to write, read, draw, paint, watch, and produce anything that involved telling a compelling story. Couple that with a love for nature and being outdoors, woodworking and design felt like a seamless craft to flow into. I feel as though the pieces I design tell their own story, and I’m honored to get to play alongside nature to see just how compelling we can make it.

I’m currently trying to aid in the fight against the “fast furniture” epidemic. This is the type of furniture or home good that is mass-produced, inexpensive, and cheaply made with poor quality materials that are hard to repair. I
Roughly 80% of these items end up plaguing our landfills after just a couple years of use. Convenience comes at a cost, and it is slowly costing us our planet.

Our mission as a company is rooted in sustainability and connectivity. We source our materials responsibly and ethically, working to cultivate a product that is functional, practical, durable, and recyclable. A product that will be around for years to come, aging like fine wine, and can be fixed and maintained with ease. Wood is one of Mother Nature’s gifts, and we do our best to breathe new life into the trees that can no longer stand on their own, in a way that honors the life they lived in service of our planet.

We design purposefully to slow down, to appreciate, to inspire, and to bring people together. We design for that soft smile that is brought to your face as you pick up one of our wooden utensils to cook with, knowing that it is truly 1 of 1. That it was handcrafted purposefully and lovingly, just for you. We design for that space in your room that houses the bespoke table where you host, gather, laugh, share, eat, and play games with loved ones. We design for the small moments, the big moments, and everything in between. We design to bring artistry and sustainability back to everyday living, and that is what we are most proud of.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

There is no secret greater than genuinely caring about the people you’re serving. I pour so much love, intention, and attention into the pieces I create that the work has no choice but to speak for itself. I don’t do much marketing, but I always have steady workflow I think in large part due to the time and energy and care that I put in to each item, big or small. I want to ensure that the client receives a product that they feel good about and I feel good about. Nothing leaves my shop until I’m satisfied with it, and most of my clients understand that. I don’t typically work with hard deadlines because something always seems to come up that I feel needs more attention and more time to get right. I would rather miss a deadline but deliver an outstanding product, than rush to meet the deadline and feel as though I could’ve done better.

My advice would be to make the work so good, that people see it and recognize it for themselves. Make people feel seen, heard, and taken care of. You don’t need to “win” clients if you do those things earnestly.

As they say, the shortcut adds distance.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I think being a female in the woodworking industry was hard for me to adjust to at first. I only ever knew of males working in the trade and it intimidated me when I first started. Early on I was hesitant to show off my work to the public, hesitant to ask for help in certain scenarios, and hesitant to even walk in the lumber areas of the hardware store in fear of being seen as not having it all figured out yet in comparison to my peers. I am self-taught and have never taken any real woodworking classes (but YouTube has been my saving grace on several occasions), so I think I felt like I couldn’t call myself a “real” woodworker.

Turns out, even when you’ve been woodworking for several years there will still times where you don’t know what you’re doing. The whole point is that you keep trying anyway, in business and in life. In fact, I truly think the sweet spot is found teetering on the line of “I think I know how to do this” and “I’m not sure if I know how to even begin”. That teetering usually leads to the projects I end up being most proud of.

Unlearn it all, especially if it strips your enthusiasm or your love for your work.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://carvedkc.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carvedkc