WoodWords started the way most good ideas do - by accident, and because of a friend who pointed at a rough gift tag I had quickly cut from a 2x4, drilled, strung, and written on with a Sharpie, and said: I love this. Why on earth aren't you making more of these?

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Nothing precious about the original. But she'd kept it for three years. That was enough to get things rolling.

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We're a small team of craftspeople based in North Vancouver, and making things carefully is what we do. After a lot of experimentation - working through firewood, scraps, reclaimed planks, and more wood species than we'd care to count - we landed on what works: tight vertical-grain Cedar, Douglas Fir, and Cherry, sourced locally from timber frame construction off-cuts and select suppliers. The grain isn't just aesthetic. It's what makes the etching clean, the piece durable, and the object worth keeping.

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Our gift tags are designed as an alternative to a greeting card - for the times when you want to say something that lasts longer than the occasion. As we worked through the categories and content, the larger canvas of a bookmark opened up something different - the chance to combine imagery with words. Botanical illustrations, literary quotes, wildlife, nature and seascapes. It felt like a natural extension, so we followed it.

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We have over 200 designs across more than 20 categories, because we felt the collection needed enough depth that you'd find the exact right one - or several, for those future occasions and those who'll appreciate a gift made that much more special by some well chosen words.

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It's a collection that continues to grow and reflect how we work - curious, enthusiastic and with a lot of thought about what might resonate and mean something to people.