I started getting into wood burning in college. My first big project was engraving the Lord of the Rings Middle Earth map onto a coffee table. It took 18 hours just to trace the map with a pencil before the wood burning process could begin. With some patience and a little staining, that coffee table transformed into a true work of art. I opted to donate the table to my residence hall because I knew far more people would get to enjoy it there than if I kept it.

Each year, I made custom engraved nameplates for every resident on my floor. I’ll never forget how much pride people took in those small, personalized signs. Each sign took about an hour to make, but it was worth it to give them something that they will keep for the rest of their life.

Years later I bought my first laser engraver so I could make really cool things without having to spend hours and hours on them. Whether gifts were burned by hand or by machine, the impact was the same. People would say things like
“it’s one of the best gifts we have ever received”
“it’s one of my most prized possessions”.
I have been amazed at how even ordinary items, things that you can look at and not think twice about, can be transformed into personal treasures that are deeply meaningful and highly valued.

It doesn’t take days or expensive materials to make something that can have a significant impact on someone’s life. A friend cried over an engraved coaster. Another showed a friend a photo of a Dollar Tree cutting board I’d engraved with a Lord of the Rings design—and that friend talked to her about it for two hours. A gift doesn’t need to be expensive to impact someone in a meaningful way. It just needs to be something that speaks to them.

That’s what drives me today. Through Sistine, I’m building a collection of engraved art and keepsakes designed to help people make their life their own. Too many of us drift through life without realizing we have the power to shape it—to fill it with what we love, to celebrate what matters, and to surround ourselves with beauty that inspires us.

I hope you’ll take a look around and see if something here speaks to you—or to someone you care about. And if nothing does, I’d love to hear from you:

What do you love? What do you want to celebrate? What inspires you?