Hello Friends,
In preparing to write this letter, I (Katy) went back to read all the letters David, Luke, I have written to you, our good friends, this year. In December, I always try to think back about the year in the shop. What did we do? And at first, it feels like a blur. Did we do anything? I mean, I know we made a lot of knives :) But, what else? Reading back through the letters we have written you, though, I see that we've done a ton! What a neat and fun year it has been.
Early in the year, we sent off a batch of steak knives to Dominique Crenn's restaurant in San Francisco - Atelier Crenn. Three days ago, Atelier Crenn was awarded their third Michelin Star, a huge honor, and Dominique Crenn is the first female chef in the United States to be awarded a third star! That's definitely long overdue. So, our knives are in a three Michelin Star restaurant, and not one, but two! Because SingleThread was also awarded their Third Michelin Star. We are so proud, more than proud, to be a part of the work these amazing people are doing.
A few weeks ago, David and I took our first vacation in years, and we went to California and stayed at SingleThread, and I have never seen such a place or been pampered to that level or eaten such food in my whole life. They hadn't been awarded their third star yet, and leaving, I was like, I don't even know what they'd need to do for a third star? Have people massage your feet at night until you fell asleep? (SingleThread is also an inn). But they have their third star now, and I'm not at all surprised. If you ever have the time and funds to stay and eat there, it is quite a privilege.
So, congratulations, SingleThread and Atelier Crenn - we are so glad that the work you are doing is being recognized, and thanks for having our work involved with yours.
In the shop, Luke and David put out their first experiments in matching their Damascus and wood grain patterns, which was very well received by you guys. Thanks for always rewarding their creativity :) And of course, they worked hard to send out so many beautiful knives in the world to you lovely people. We started using the gorgeous copper beech that was given to us early in the year, and it is just so pretty. And, we are just so thankful that y'all come back month after month, and that your support allows us to keep working in this beautiful place.
In the holiday season, and really all year long, we think about the fact that when you guys come to us in the lottery sales or for custom orders, there is no item you can get from us very quickly, unless you are one of the 30-35 people whose names are selected in the lotteries. And you guys are incredibly patient with this, for which we are endlessly thankful.
But, about six months ago, our friend Andrew Dittmier and the folks at Water's Edge Woods approached us for feedback on a cutting board design they had been working on and we started to collaborate with them. The people of Water's Edge Wood have been in our close community for many years and have supplied us with wood for knife handles, sawed up burls that we’ve collected, shared food and fellowship, books and ideas, and we've all talked business together. We have finally finished working on these boards, and we would now like to offer them to you.
Some will have walnut and walnut sapwood incorporated, and the sapwood has a lighter color like on these boards:
These boards are lovely - black walnut with deep handle notches on the sides for ease of movement and small rubber feet on the bottom to keep them from sliding on slick countertops or from having to put a damp cloth under them. The boards should last a lifetime and are covered by a lifetime guarantee.
But why a cutting board, after years of offering nothing but knives?
At Bloodroot, we have long discussed how, if we could add anything to our customer’s kitchens, it would be an end-grain cutting board. End-grain wood boards are the absolute best for maintaining knives and significantly increase their edge life. On an end-grain board, the knife edge cuts parallel to the wood fibers rather than perpendicular, which reduces the abrasion on the knife edge and keeps it sharper for longer. So, having an end-grain cutting board helps our knives perform the way they are supposed to. End-grain boards also have other benefits, that we will outline on the page where the board is available for purchase.
It has been an amazing year, and writing this has given me an opportunity to think back over it and get excited about next year! Thank you again for making this business possible. We hope that you have a wonderful holiday season with family, and that it makes you feel connected with your communities and hopeful about the new year.
With gratitude and affection,
Katy and Luke and David and Helen.