It all started with a cutting board and a desire to make cool things out of wood inside a garage that had a barn-like feel.
The river birch tree Matt and Shelley could see outside of the garage’s window, with its distinctive peeling bark, served as an inspiration for the businesses’ moniker. Matt’s passionate creative side and penchant for thoughtful gift-giving was the engine for a batch of cutting boards made from colorful hardwood. This quickly became the blueprint for a brand dedicated to making wooden gifts that last a lifetime.
Celebrating its 13th anniversary this year, BirchBarn Designs has come a long way since its humble beginnings inside a 350 sq. ft garage where Matt churned out cutting boards and barware. Back then, pre-storefront, Matt would work the local farmers market circuit.
“He quickly became known as 'the cutting board guy' but he was never going to be satisfied with such a narrow distinction,” said Shelley Swanson, Head of Marketing & Online Operations.
Matt and Shelley could feel the momentum of the business catching on when they decided to open up their garage in December of 2016 for a holiday shopping event. An evite was sent out, hot cocoa and cookies were served, and neighbors showed up en masse and purchased artisan gifts made out of wood right there in the garage.
“We realized at that moment that we had built something that people appreciated and that they believed in us. They appreciated our story,” said Shelley. “In those early days, I was attending the markets with Matt on the weekends while holding down my own career in legal marketing. Matt eventually said, ‘I can see a bigger future for BirchBarn Designs but I need help getting there. I can hire other help, but I would love for it to be you.”
Shelley and Matt’s home was BirchBarn Designs HQ. The kitchen table was a makeshift office where Shelley fulfilled orders, the guest room was stacked floor to ceiling with cutting boards, and Matt turned out a product line that included dozens of different artisan wood goods inside the garage, which he heated with a wood stove. As word got around about Matt’s deep appreciation for craftsmanship and detail, the challenges of working out of the home caught up with the couple. OG cutting board customers began asking Matt to design and make countertops and custom interior designs like tables, shelving and bar tops for their own homes.
“Matt is a jumper and has never been afraid of big leaps. So when the workshop and showroom space became available on Ford Place in Scituate, we took the leap from 350 sq. feet to 3000 sq. feet,” said Shelley.
BirchBarn’s business model isn’t revolutionary, and Matt will be the first to admit that. Still, the couple has managed to grow and sustain in a part of Scituate that was in its early stages of growth, a few miles from the busy harbor district.
“We’re not reinventing; we’re proving what we’re capable of over and over. Even during down times, we don’t get sedentary. We’re constantly adding to our capabilities to keep people coming back year after year,” said Matt.
On any given day, when you step into Matt’s workshop you can guarantee two things: the music will be blaring and there will be several projects underway in every corner of the workshop. As a set of waterfall stools dry in one corner, Matt can be seen preparing a countertop with epoxy in hand, while a stack of Acadia serving boards await a bath of mineral oil before they head to the showroom.
“Matt is a fast and efficient worker. He counts the steps and the minutes it takes to complete every project. Everything is mathed in his head from project parameters to profit margins,” said Shelley.
As the couple settled into the new space, their ability to produce larger and more significant orders began to attract bigger and bigger clients. “Six boards for your local realtor - sure no problem. Eight-hundred boards for the Red Sox, we can also do that. Anyone can make a cutting board; but can you make hundreds of boards and make them exactly the same without an assembly line? We can,” said Matt.
The duo’s Ford Place headquarters now includes a curated selection of other brands that have propelled their interests outside of the shop. Bringing in other brands has been a way for the couple to create a destination for inspiring others to build, gather and add more fun to their best days. Their annual Makers Market, held on Small Business Saturday, reflects the couple’s dedication to supporting and contributing to a thriving community of artisans and creators.
“Why do I love wood? It’s a means to an end. You can build so many things out of it. It opens the door to so many possibilities and it has a lasting quality,” said Matt. “You can replicate the size of the species. But you can’t replicate the grain and the beauty marks. Those are the fingerprints that make it unique and one of a kind. When the pieces are glued up and sanded, everything comes together. The whole is always greater than the sum of its parts.”
