About us

History

In July of 2014, Kalex Custom Carvings Ltd. became a reality. We started in the corner of our garage in Saprae Creek in Fort McMurray with a hobbiest CNC and a contractors table saw a month before our first child was born. Our little business began to grow until we moved our operation into the old boat house that was in our backyard and dedicated that space to our little woodworking side business. We made a great name for ourselves in Fort McMurray and everything was going great.

In May of 2016 we lost our home and business to "The Beast" (Horse River Fire) and had to make our decisions quickly with our second little one on the way and having lost our other sources of income. In July of 2016, we purchased a new place to call home and began to set up our business for a full-time operation. September 28th of 2016 we opened Kalex Custom Carvings Ltd. for the second time. Being in a new area, we needed to rebuild our reputation. We still had wonderful support from Fort McMurray and were sending packages up frequently. I joined the local Chambers of Commerce and began pounding the pavement to spread the word about our business. We were accepted into the Make IT! Edmonton trade show in November and then the St. Albert Farmer's Market in 2017. The word was spreading and again our business was growing.

Over 2018, when things were starting to look up after 2017, there was something not quite right. Unfortunately, mental health for one person in our team improved a lot through a lot of hard work, seeking support and determination and decreased greatly for the other person of our team. Our main focus became trying to help our fallen member with getting support and resources he needed to overcome the darkness that was looming over him and crippling him. In December of 2018, a family emergency caused our business to come to a screeching halt. For the third time, Kalex was started up again on January 30th, 2019, this time with only one person steering the ship. It has been hard running the business without my original teammate. However, through perseverance, hard work, support of my incredible family and the amazing woodworking community around me, the potential of this little woodworker is unstoppable. I continue to make Kalex grow and strive to keep building my reputation.

I love creating and working with my hands. I love that the games I make help families come together to make life-long memories. I love that my work lights up so many faces of friends and family that receive my products as they rave over the quality and the small sentimental details. I love that I get to work one on one with every customer to make their vision a reality. I love what I do and what I have done. I love that through all of the awful challenges thrown my way, I chose to grow and persist rather than crumble and give up. Thank you so much to all that have supported Kalex Custom Carvings Ltd. A business built from love and a passion for creating, which has not changed. I could not have gotten this far without you.