Conversations with Karl Greene

Today we’d like to introduce you to Karl Greene.

Hi Karl, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I always wanted to make furniture and other wood-related projects. Unfortunately growing up, my high school did not offer any hands-on classes other than drafting. YouTube was also not a thing until 2006, four years after I graduated. By that time life had taken over and I had already entered the workforce.

It wasn’t until I purchased a home and had more free time that I thought more about woodworking. I slowly began buying secondhand tools from the Facebook marketplace and building rough projects… really rough projects. I kept at it, slowly getting better. It wasn’t until I made my first cutting board that I began to get requests from family and friends to make things.

During that time I was working a job for the State of Ohio. Over time my skills improved and it became harder to keep up with my orders and day job. In October 2021, two years after I began woodworking I quit my job to be a full-time woodworker.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has been a huge learning experience. There have been some bumps along the way and I am still getting some things settled. There are so many little things that are needed to run a successful business that you do not think about initially. The biggest hurdle I faced was not having enough space to work out of my garage for the first 9 months.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a woodworker. I make all sorts of projects, from large 7 feet tables to coasters. I own an industrial laser cutter and CNC. I can customize just about any project that comes my way. I am probably the proudest of the walnut dining tables and entryway tables I have made.

We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
Fortunately for me, working alone in my shop kept me working through the pandemic without much change. The price of plywood was the hardest on my business but not enough to stop commissions from coming. Covid gave me the time off to find out that I wanted to work for myself.

Contact Info:

• Website: Kcustom.squarespace.com
• Instagram: @Kcustomwoodworking