Eric Doherty caught the entrepreneurial bug early – age five to be exact. That’s when he first began selling his woodwork. Today, he’s on his fourth woodworking business, this one focused entirely on hand-carved wooden spoons and cups.

“I started my spoon carving as a way to use a rhododendron that had to be removed at my cabin,” he says. “I decided to repurpose it into spoons and cups that I would have forever. Turns out I really enjoyed it.”

Eric carves everything using only hand tools, making each piece as unique as the tree from which it came. He says he often overhears people saying his pieces are “too beautiful to use” or asking “can I actually use this for cooking?”

“I kind of want to smack those folks with one of the spoons,” he says with a laugh. “The spoons are made for function and durability…their beauty is secondary to me.”