teachers, technology mix it up - InMaricopa.com

14m BUSINESS InMaricopa.com
March 2012
Glennwildegroves couple
craft one-of-a-kind wares
BY JOSH SKALNIAK
Mastering a craft takes time and
discipline. And if there are two people
who know that to be true, it’s Steve and
Cynthia Portrey.
The couple opened their business,
Wood & Weaving, in Maricopa in 2008.
Steve specializes in woodworking,
creating one-of-a kind segmented
bowls. Cynthia makes shawls, blankets
and table runners, but says she most
enjoys making one-of-a-kind scarves.
The couple creates and sells
their crafts out of their home in the
Glennwildegroves subdivision.
“We really like it here,” Cynthia
said. “Everything we do is handmade
from an artisan. You wouldn’t find
anything like this in a mall. We sell out
of our house so we can sell it 30 percent
cheaper than through a store.”
Steve creates bowls by layering rings
of wood on top of each other. Once the
layering is complete, he turns the bowl
on a lathe to smooth the edges.
“I’ve been turning bowls since
1998,” Steve said. “It’s never out of the
same wood. It’s never the same shape,
and never the same size.”
Each bowl takes Steve 50 to 60
hours to complete with an average of
400 pieces of wood per bowl.
“There is nothing dyed,” he said. “If
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fi nancing options for all
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I want purple or black, then I have to go
in and buy that exotic wood the color
that I want.”
He uses many types of wood
including maple, cherry, walnut and
oak. He spends about $100 on wood
for each bowl.
Steve said he once had a woman
from Baltimore ask him to build her an
urn from black walnut for her dead dog
because the dog used to always pee on
her black walnut trees.
“That’s what she picked out for her
dog,” Steve said.
Steve also builds bookshelves, cabinets,
wall units and television stands.
Though Cynthia said she has had
an interest in weaving since 1990, she
did not seriously start refining her craft
until 1998.
She uses tencel, alpaca, wool,
mohair, cotton, linen and rayon.
“My specialty is I like putting
ribbon in the scarves,” Cynthia said. “I
like using lots of color versus plain.”
Cynthia buys all her fabrics
wholesale so she can keep her prices
down, she said, and uses such exotic
fibers as bamboo.
“Fibers can get pretty expensive,”
she said.
It takes her about eight hours to
make a scarf, but most of that time is
spent setting up the loom, or, as Cyn-
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artisans Cynthia and Steve Portrey weave and create wooden bowls at home.
thia called it, “dressing the loom.”
“It depends if she has seen ‘Law and
Order’ three or four times,” Steve said,
joking about how long it takes her to
finish a scarf.
Although Cynthia takes requests
from customers on specific designs, she
likes to create her own.
“If they like it, fine. If they don’t,
there is Walmart,” she said.
Steve said he first learned his craft
from his father, and then dabbled in it
for about 15 years until he got into an
artisan co-op in Berkley Springs, W.Va.
“I get my designs from traveling
around,” he said, “seeing the
outdoor walls in around Phoenix and
incorporating those designs. I also like
the Casa Grande Ruins, Pueblo Indian
designs and petroglyphs.”
LAWN VALUE
PACKAGE
• 400 sq ft of sod and
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• Curbing – Concrete
Border • 1-15 gallon tree
• 10-5 gallon shrubs
• 8 tons of rock (Castle
Brown 1 / 2” or 1”, or
Cherokee 1 / 2” or 1”)
plus
tax
$ 1,795
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• 500 sq ft of sod and
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• 1-24” box tree • 2-15 gallon
trees • 2-15 gallon citrus
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palms) • 15-5 gallon shrubs
• 10 tons of rock
(Castle Brown 1 / 2” or 1”,
or Cherokee 1 / 2” or 1”)
plus
tax
$ 2,695
Cynthia said she picked up weaving
on her own and then took classes
for a couple years from a woman in
Walkersville, Md., about 60 miles from
Washington, D.C.
The couple started selling their art
in 2003 after participating in an artisan
studio tour called Over the Mountain
Studio Tour in Jefferson County, W.Va.
The couple showcased their art
in Maricopa last year at the annual
Province Arts and Crafts Show.
“We hope to continue with (such
shows),” Cynthia said. “It was relatively
profitable for us.”
Steve Portrey – 520-280-6857
Cynthia Portrey – 520-280-6746
woodandweaving.com
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