Today we’d like to introduce you to Eric Ruby.
Hi Eric, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
The idea of building and creating was something that I always had brewing in my heart. As a kid, the passion was Lego and K’Nex. As a teen and young adult, it was tinkering with tools and going to school for an engineering degree. But when I was out in the real world working as an adult and in the Navy, I put that creativity aside to start preparing for a family. A few years later, I couldn’t take it… I needed to create and build something with my hands. I think this is an innate need woven into all of our beings. In my wife and I’s faith, we wholeheartedly believe we are made in our Creator’s image and we are designed to partner in creating beautiful things with Him.
As I began to search for an outlet, I realized I wasn’t very good at painting or writing so I opened my aperture a bit. I looked around my house and started noticing some broken furniture from my moves with the military. Most of it was made by the big-box stores, poor quality and didn’t truly fit the space of my home. The thought popped in my head “why don’t I try and make something that the moving company can’t damage or destroy but also fits my decor and space?” I started researching do-it-yourself wood furniture and my heart started to come alive. I was discovering that woodworking was a beautiful mix of creative design, the natural beauty of wood, machines, tools and engineering…. I went out the next month and bought my first set of basic tools and within the next few weeks, I built my first douglas fir dining table based on a design from a high end furniture store (with a lot of help from YouTube). I was hooked and dived into all things woodworking. Going down the rabbit hole started leading me to new types of lumber like oak, walnut, cherry and was fascinated by the uniqueness of every piece of lumber I came across. As I continued to experiment and build, my wife Sara encouraged me to try and start a business. In August of 2017, I hesitantly said ‘yes’. Was I good enough? Will people appreciate my designs? Is there a market for this sort of work? I stepped into the unknown and just got building. We built a few small projects that helped us invest in professional equipment (another awesome story for another time) and continued to get some orders here and there. The passion and excitement just kept growing, as well as our orders.
Fast forward a bit to our current status. Thanks to our clients and customers, we are now in a position where we are trying to work for the business in a full-time capacity and taking the leap. I stepped away from active duty in the Navy in order to pursue this passion and we are investing almost all of our savings into building a woodshop to make this dream a reality. While the building is being constructed, we are working out of our garage on a few custom projects and connecting with people in the SoCal area.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I’m so glad it hasn’t been an easy road. If it was easy, we wouldn’t have seen what doors were being open and closed at perfect moments and our faith, purpose and vision wouldn’t have been refined. A major issue that we encountered was developing the business while I was active duty with the Navy. With orders to a new location, we would start gaining a customer base and then move. Then build up the clients in the new location and then move. Thankfully, we have made our last move in November 2021 to Menifee, CA and are digging in for deep roots. One of the big struggles currently is adopting our new lifestyle. With our woodshop in the works, we are having to get more creative with how we budget our time and money. As we continue to build projects, I also have to be employed full-time with another company as we grow our client list and wait for orders to come in which means late nights, early mornings and precious time away from family.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We build handcrafted, heirloom quality custom furniture while working with our clients to find their perfect design to complete their space. Our favorite piece and specialty is the dining table. So much life happens around the table and it is the centerpiece to the home, for good reason. Your table is the place where everyone should feel welcomed as they break bread and share the vulnerable joys and tears of life. There is even science now that proves how important sharing a meal around the dinner table is for kids and their physical, emotional and spiritual development. Check out “thefamilydinnerproject.org”!
I am most proud of every new piece that I build. My skills are honed and I have stretched my potential. However, my favorite piece so far has been the black walnut crib that I built while my first-born son was growing in my wife’s womb. There was something so emotional and spiritual about it that it is hard to describe.
One aspect that sets us apart is my mechanical engineering background. I have had the opportunity of an amazing education at the U.S. Naval Academy which has dovetailed into providing structurally sound furniture, often with the added benefit of it being ‘knock-down’ capable for moving or storage. Another is that I just really love wood. It’s such an amazing and unique material with a host of different qualities like smell, strength, weight, color… and even taste when the sawdust gets flying.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
Sara, my wife, has been an integral part of this business. First, she was the catalyst for the business to begin but Sara works devotedly on our marketing and the social media all while raising two wild little men who demand a lot of attention. She also has an amazing sense of style for decorating and furniture design. I am constantly bouncing ideas off of her to see where improvements can be made.
Without her, Redefined Woodworking Company would not exist.
Contact Info:
- Email: redefinedwoodworking@gmail.com
- Website: www.redefinedwoodworkingco.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/redefinedwoodworkingco
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/redefinedwoodworkingco
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGaFGhDVdg7rhihwbNcr7BQ
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/redefined-woodworking-company-menifee
Image Credits
Luke Beasley
Ashley Beasley
