A Family-Owned and Run Small Business
Kyle Hageman and Heather Horton are FishRule Studios. We each engage in all aspects of our process from design, to selecting woods, all the way through to finishing.
We are incredibly lucky to be life partners and business partners, and we have fun together in the shop.
Artist Statement
We believe that human life is made better when we are surrounded by well designed objects that work well and spark joy. The natural beauty of the woods we use create a sense of awe in us, and we strive to enhance that beauty through simple, effective design and precise craftsmanship.
Our Process
Wood Selection
Very little in our shop happens by chance. We start by hand-selected lumber--looking for interesting color, grain pattern, and chatoyance (derived from the French "shining like a cat's eye"). The primary woods in our products are domestic woods like Walnut, Maple, and Cherry. We then accent the beauty of those woods with stripes that often include exotic woods like Purple Heart, Paduak, Bubinga, and Yellow Heart.
Intention, Precision & Care
We have a lot of fun deciding how to combine different woods to best show off the beauty. Experience has taught us to "listen" to each board; there are certain grain patterns that work best for different applications. We rip and surface each edge of each piece so that we have a great surface for glue adhesion. Once the glue-up is complete, we shape and surface each piece, then sand, sand, and sand some more. Finally, we apply the appropriate finish for the piece--any product that will be in direct contact with food is finished with a food-grade butcher block conditioner, and other products are finished with a polyurethane finish.
Reducing Waste
We hate waste, so some of our product ideas were born out of a desire to use "scrap" wood. Examples include our Journals and the Gem Wall Art Series.
