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Kleppin's Wooden Kitchen 2007-2008

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Kleppin's Wooden Kitchen

This is an historical archive of information about Heritage Heirloom Cutting Boards created by Bob Kleppin as part of "Kleppin's Wooden Kitchen".

There comes a time when adding information to a lens begins to dilute the value of the lens, making it difficult to navigate, slow to load, and frankly, just a little boring. Still, it's nice to have an electronic footprint to look at that shows where you started and where you've gone.

With that in mind, rather than just delete information about Bob's Boards, I decided to build a page devoted to our history, so I can take things off of the main lens while preserving a record.

This is that lens.

It Started in 2007

By the end of the year, Bob had developed his skill and had built up a small inventory of products, and we toyed with the idea of marketing them. My cousin offered us a section of her booth at the Del Norte County Holiday Faire, an annual event that the entire community looks forward to, and that's where Bob became "The Board Maker".

We sold a couple of large pieces, and several small ones - didn't make a lot of money, but we did notice that many people would have liked to buy them had the economy in Del Norte not been so bad. The compliments on his work were many, and that feedback is what led us to take the next step.

We Started Filming for Fun

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2008 Found Us Spending A Lot of Time & Money

We Had A Lot To Learn

While Bob was busy buying tools, experimenting with designs, and developing his product line, I was learning about marketing both on and off line.

We set up at a Home Show, and learned that Home Improvement wasn't a good fit for a high end kitchen tool.

We tried putting boards in the Art Gallery, but sales were dismal there, as well.

Then we tried having a table at an Art Show. Our first tiny taste of success!

Art Show Success July 2008 

August 2008 Del Norte County Fair

Bob Took All Three Places In His Professional Category

I can't believe he sold his prizewinning boards! (I kept the ribbons, though.)

September 2008 - Squidoo Rocks My World.

I joined Squidoo on September 13, 2008, and built my first lens as a project to help Bob sell his cutting boards. On September 28, that first lens was featured as a Lens Of The Day - before I even really knew what LOTD was.

October 2008 - Fresh Squid and a Harvest Halloween Festival

Two really cool things happened in October of 2008.

On Squidoo, my original wooden-kitchen lens placed first in the "Fresh Squid" awards. That boosted my confidence that I could build lenses, and also reinforced the idea that Bob's Boards were of interest to people.

So when an opportunity to get a last minute table at the Humboldt Halloween Harvest Festival presented itself, we jumped in with both feet.

Harvest Halloween Festival

Of course I used the opportunity to build some lenses

I had a lot to learn - and I bit off more than I could comfortably chew, but I got a few lenses out of the experience, and I gained valuable experience in the process.
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We Were in the Times Standard!

Talk About A Rush! Getting Your Story In The News Feels Wonderful!

Holiday Season 2008

We were honored to be part of the holiday shopping cooperative:

Once Again - Shared Space at the Holiday Faire in Del Norte County

Still haven't edited the video yet.

So many projects, so little time.

Bob Continues To Develop New Patterns 

December 2009 - Goodbye California, Hello Texas

I quit my job, we packed up our things, and we moved back to Pflugerville

So Wooden Kitchen went "off-line" for awhile in order to reorganize in the new location.

What's Going On Now

This link is to our main Wooden Kitchen Page

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Heritage Heirloom Cutting Boards

A Woodworking Niche on Squidoo

The Flagship of Bob's Boards Saga: Heritage Heirloom Cutting Boards

The Archive because the Flagship Got Too Big: Kleppin's Wooden Kitchen 2007-2008

The Ten Hardwoods Bob used:

Bamboo - A traditional hardwood, (really a grass), used in cutting boards. Adds an Oriental texture to the boards.

Cherry - A north-eastern US and Canada wood with a fine texture. Becomes darker and richer with age.

Hard Maple - This wood come from North Eastern US and Canada. Known for its durability and strength. Mainstay of most cutting board manufacturers. White to honey in color.

Hickory - A very strong wood with a tight grain. Found all over the US. Trees live to be 350 years old. Grain patterns are very bold and add character to any item made with it.

Jatoba - A crop wood from central and tropical South America. It is also known as Brazilian Cherry. Very distinct tight grain which adds a unique texture to end grain work.

Katalox - An extremely hard dense wood ranging from Purple to Brown to White in the same board. This very attractive coloring patterns creates character to my cutting boards. Found in Central and Southern America.

Monterillo - Also known as Brazilian Rose Wood. Comes from Central America, Panama, Ecuador, and Venezuela. This is a crop wood with very distinct black stripes in a dark rich brown wood.

Purple Heart - A very hard wood from Mexico and Tropical South America. It is, as its name suggests, purple in color and brings a special colorization to any board.

Fishtail Oak - The only one of the oak family whose grain is tight enough to be used in cutting boards. Brings a distinct "fish tail" pattern when used as a side trim board.

Walnut - A dark Chocolate wood mellowing to a light brown within the same board. Medium hard but very well suited for end grain cutting boards. Come from Eastern US and Canada.

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CCGAL2

This is a second account for CCGAL - this is my "in storage" lens list. I'm told this makes more sense than deleting them, and some are actually lenses... more »

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