A Cambridge woman says her sustainable business is a labour of love and sawdust.
"It's really been a fun road," said Jordan Paiero, owner of A Shed in the Forest, who makes wooden home decor and toys.
Started in 2016, the business developed following Paiero's wedding where she DIYed her wedding decorations. Currently, she operates A Shed in the Forest part-time while working at a vet clinic. From searching for local wood to carving out her products, Paiero is involved in the process from start to finish.
"I wanted the less carbon footprint, and I am a bit of an DIYer, so I started making things and I really enjoyed the process," she said.
“There’s a lot of plastic in this world, and wood is a lot more sustainable and biodegradable at the end of the day, no packaging, no processing and it’s a lot less of a carbon footprint."
To gather materials for her products, Paiero scours the area and has enlisted help from her friends and family to keep an eye out for fallen trees.
“I’m a bit of an opportunist, we have a couple friends who have farms, so if they have a tree that comes down in a storm, I’m on that,” she said.
By sourcing local wood, A Shed in the Forest offers a little bit of variety in the wood grains seen within the products, from Birch, to Black Walnut, to Buckthorn and more.
“I also like to educate people about the different kinds of woods, because why not? It's something different and helps people identity trees on their walks,” said Paiero.
As part of her commitment to sustainability, Paiero only uses dead trees for her products.
“I don’t take anything that’s standing just live, I like them to serve their purpose,” she said.
Paiero has a fine arts degree and learned to use tools by her parents, who own a construction company. All the designs on her products are hand drawn and are transferred as a digital image to trace and reproduce.
For some products, like her insect coasters, Paiero said she uses real objects to recreate those images as much as possible.
“They’re one of a kind," Paiero said about the original drawings.
After giving birth to her son, Paiero began making wooden toys. As her son gets older, she plans to eventually transition her business from home decor to toy making. Following between 10 to 15 steps per toy, Paiero said it takes her around 20 minutes to make one.
“It’s really important to me that the toys he’s playing with are locally sourced, handmade and not made of plastic,” said Paiero.
“I've always tried to be eco-conscious in my decisions and while there are some things that are harder to avoid than others this seemed like a simple substitution. Reducing our footprint became even more important once we had our son, both to be an example to him and for his generation.”
The toys Paiero currently makes are wooden animals, drawing inspiration from animals that are native to Ontario as part of mixing education with play.
“I love focusing on native plants, native species, and I’m trying to focus on native animals that can be found within Ontario,” said Paiero, “so on the side of them, it says exactly what the animal is, it doesn’t just say it’s a bear, it’s a black bear.”
Speaking of local animals, Paiero explains the name of her business comes from the antlers white tail deer shed during the winter. Growing up, Paiero said she and her father would go for hikes in the spring, hoping to find shed antlers.
“To find that shed was always a cool lucky find, so when you come across my stuff, I hope it’s that it's your cool and lucky find at the end of the day.”
With the holidays coming up, Paiero will be participating with other small businesses in an online event called Christmas in Cambridge, which starts Nov. 22 and ends Dec. 20. Her products can also be purchased online at ashedintheforest.company.site.
