The idea for our business Design 423 came about based on a anniversary gift for my wife. On our wedding day on April 23, 2005, our photographer wanted to take some photos not far from our church at a local college garden area. Quite a few photos were taken in the gardens but one in particular ended up being an iconic shot that was one of our favorites. It ended up being perfect timing to setup near a planter box full of yellow tulips as they were just coming into bloom on this chilly Spring day. To this day my wife loves yellow tulips. We've had a planter box of our own at each home we've lived at ever since. She wanted a tulip shaped box for one anniversary. Having never made a bandsaw box before it took some trial and error before I figured it out. Over the years I've done other iterations of the tulip box. A 3D printed design version as well as a CNC version more recently. When it came time to come up with a name for this business I kept thinking about the tulip box and partly inspired by 731 Woodworks and how they named their business. 4/23 was a special day for us and we want every design we create to be a special one for our customers. But it’s not just about making stuff to be making stuff. Each design should have a purpose and in a world where we are supposedly more connected than ever we are really less connected relationally than ever before. In person. Physically present. Whether it’s a cribbage board or a serving tray we want to focus on designs that bring people together.
