We recently connected with Micah Wall and have shared our conversation below.

Micah, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

I started out making spoon rings years ago. A reuse of materials. When I moved into furniture it was a lot of repurposed metal mixed with wood. As times progressed I’ve moved away from that but it’s remained important to me to source materials as responsibly as possible and make the best use of everything. I mill almost all the lumber I use, often from salvaged trees. I actually got into lathe work to make use of the wood I couldn’t mill into lumber. It’s such a beautiful valuable resource, I just hate to see it go to waste.

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

I come from a blue collar family. Dad was a mechanic, grandpa was a carpenter. I was tearing apart and rebuilding carburetors before I could read and had put roofs on houses before I graduated junior high. It was a great foundation to build off of. Almost everything I do now I’m self taught in, but that foundation was critical. As well as the work ethic I was taught. When I say grandpa was a carpenter who built houses, that was his second full time job after he got home from the factory and dad was a mechanic both for Ford and his own shop. They worked full time jobs then came home and worked full time jobs on nights and weekends. That gave me the opportunity to work alongside them and learn so much.

While I specialize in furniture and jewelry I like to say I’m an artist for hire. Almost everything I build is custom, designed and made to order. I’ve worked with stores creating product lines they couldn’t find or wanted handmade versions of. I work with clients to meet their custom space and size requirements on furniture. But I try not to limit myself on projects. I love a challenge and stepping out of my wheelhouse.

I think what really sets me apart and what I’m most proud of is my commitment to waste reduction and responsible sourcing and use of materials. I haven’t bought wood for years. I source logs and either mill them myself or have them milled to my specifications. What can’t be made into slabs or boards is then proceeded to be used as lathe stock. What’s left from there heats the shop and my home in the winter. Same goes for a lot of my metal and jewelry work. I tend to specialize in non ferrous metals and own a foundry and large rolling mill. Every scrap is saved and more likely than not it came from a salvaged source to begin with. My love of nature and the living world has always forced my hand in this direction.

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

When you first start out with any hobby there’s a period where you’re collecting tools that will help improve your craft. There’s usually a quick plateau though where your tools can only take you so far without adequate skill. It’s tricky to learn where that line is and what’s actually needed. I’ve got tools gathering dust that videos convinced me would streamline and improve my work. There’s only one sure way to streamline and improve your work though and that’s by doing it. Do what you can with what you have.

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

Selling furniture on 2023 the odds are heavily stacked against you from the get go. My current strategy is probably the riskiest I’ve ever undertaken. Mid Century furniture is great, but from my personal design and building perspective it gets repetitive, but it’s selling like crazy. Still.

I’ve been held back by budgets my entire career. After getting really excited about a credenza I designed for a client last spring, then seeing it passed by over other construction costs I decided I needed to go all out at least once.

I’m about two months into a jewelry bench build for myself. I’ve used only the best materials and sourced the best hardware on the market. I’ve altered the design of a standard jewelers bench drastically and am designing and implementing features I’ve never seen elsewhere.

The risk is I don’t know if there is any coming back. Once you know what you’re capable of, you should always be working towards that next level. Let’s hope I eventually find the clientele that is interested in that level.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.unnaturalresources.net
• Instagram: @unnaturalresources