We recently connected with Eric & Melanie Gross and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Eric & Melanie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

We do a lot of custom work which we love doing. Working with customers is very satisfying, because it is not a Grossarosa2 project; it is our project, our creativity, our likes; we just put it all together for them. The best ones are customers that have a concept, but are not sure exactly how to execute it. We are not just making tables, wall décor, or charcuterie boards. We are making new family heirlooms that will hopefully be passed down from generation to generation.

One project that means a lot to us was not a custom order; it was for family, but it’s something we could easily do for anyone with a similar need. We were visiting Melanie’s family in Indiana and found out that her great grandfather’s barn was being torn down by the new property owners. They allowed us to scour through and collect anything that was useful. Truth be told there wasn’t a lot left that wasn’t rotted and unusable. I did manage to find a couple of pieces of old siding that, with a little bit of epoxy, could be rescued. We were able to transform them into some really rustic crosses that came out beautifully. I was able to engrave the back with the pertinent information about the origin of the wood, and presto, we had gifts to share with her brother and cousin. It is really cool working on something that could be 200+ years old, and what was going to a landfill, or up in smoke at the site, is something that will live on within the family.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Grossarosa2 Woodshop is a husband (Eric) and wife (Melanie) operation making unique one-of-a-kind handmade items for your home. From charcuterie/cutting boards to tables and the coasters that sit on them, we strive to make items that will last and fulfill your needs. We both have very much fulltime jobs, so this little hobby that we truly backed into can be challenging at times, but it’s also really fun, especially working with your spouse. We work well together and it’s a fun journey we are on.

We like to say that we take it from “tree to what you see!” We take trees that are likely going into a landfill, mill them,and make them into something for your home that you will love, and the process is all done in-house. We dosource wood a little, but most outside wood is something a customer has and wants to transform it, so it’sprobably still saving something from a landfill. We make all wood or wood and epoxy products. We like to get creative, and we’ve come up with some cool concepts on our own, but we also love collaboration with our clients. They typically stretch us in ways we would have never thought of, and we love them for that. We stand by our work and will not deliver anything that falls short; we offer service after the sale including repairs, answering questions on maintenance, etc. Grossarosa2 items may not be perfect, but they are definitely made with care and the needs of the customer in the forefront.

About that name……… We love it when customers at shows ask about our name. The backstory is Eric grew up in south Florida on a 2.5 acre parcel of land in what seemed like the middle of nowhere at the time. A friend of his father’s would visit and say he was visiting the Grossarosa, referencing the old TV show the Ponderosa (you young ones might need to Google that).
So when we moved into our little parcel of land in Georgia in 2002, we named this place Grossarosa2, not knowing we would be doing woodworking some 17 years later. So when trying to come up with a brand it was a natural fit – Grossarosa2 Woodshop!

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, it’s working with our clientele. Whether it is something we created or a joint effort, seeing people fall in love with a piece is so rewarding. Knowing that you checked all the boxes for them in one way or another is simply priceless. Creating something that might become a family heirloom requires a great deal of respect and care in the execution process, and we always try to recognize that in everything we do.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Now. We are in mid-pivot! We are expanding, growing, and looking for new marketing opportunities right now. We’ve been checking out options with weekend shows and even exploring having a booth at a local market. We never sought out to do this; it was something we happily fell into. A few years back we helped purchase a lathe for Melanie’s dad for Christmas. As we were figuring things out, we saw some videos of people turning wood and resin bowls. We thought those were cool, so we started making “blanks” for her dad to turn. We started posting the resulting bowls on Facebook in support of her dad (Pfennig Pfarm on FB). A high school friend asked if I could make a wood and resin charcuterie board. We agreed even though we did not know what a charcuterie board was! YouTube to the rescue again, and after a few attempts, we got one that wasn’t half-bad. We posted on social media and then the gloves were off…we got several requests to start making these from our friends, and before you knew it, we were “in business”. We truly credit our friends for where we are today. Their love and support and wacky requests have moved us into places we would have never thought of. We love our peeps! People that seek handcrafted items are very special. They understand that it takes more than one skillset to get products on the market. We had to not only learn about woodworking, but also graphic arts, rules around selling, food safety, and the challenging world of marketing and doing shows. Social media is not our thing, so we admittedly struggle with this one. In the woodshop world there are a ton of talented folks doing what we are doing and their internet presence is huge. We were surprised when we started that folks asked for a logo or signature on their boards; it never occurred to us to even do that. After our amateur attempts to design one, our talented cousin jumped in and helped us create the logo we have now. We understand now that we are creating a brand, and that brand is crucial to getting yourself out there in the market. Community support from friends, family and other woodworkers has been phenomenal and is yet another key ingredient to getting us moving in the right direction. We are still balancing the life of a side business with having fulltime jobs, and it is very easy to get consumed by both, but having this creative outlet is good for both of us. The fact that we do it together is like extra frosting on your cupcake

Contact Info:

• Website: https://grossarosa2-woodshop.square.site/
• Instagram: grossarosa2
• Facebook: Grossarosa Woodshop