Vitae Customs LLC

Final construction of the live-edge oak treads and landing project with the railing completed. I can’t thank Cody and the team over at Mark Tanner Construction enough for making this project shine with their custom stringers and railing, or Mark Tanner himself for giving me the opportunity. I learned a lot during this process. The best is yet to come.

14’ Red Oak Mud room bench my client planned on staining themselves and only wanted flattened and sanded w/ countersunk c-channel on the bottom to reduce cupping.

I said it was my next tattoo and Jason at Injured Ink Tattoos down the street made it happen. Thank you Jason. I’ll definitely be back.

The alchemy of it all never leaves you wanting. Watching Shannon’s process take place is as arcane to me as it is confusing, but seeing the degree of physical and chemical changes that have taken place when that lid opens is as exciting as it is rewarding….every time.

The process of “takeoff” to a 5’x8’ live-edge landing. I selected some choice 3.25”+ x 3’+wide x 15’ long live-edge oak slabs from Jesse Wallace over at Millworkz in Arnold, CA. Stabilized the knots and checks with epoxy resin. Flattened them using our gantry system from TrueTrac. Ripped and then hand-planed the mating surfaces. Made some splines for the tongue and groove from the same slabs. Initially glued 3 slabs and two slabs as our client wanted the landing in two pieces for ease of install in the tight area. Counter-sunk the c-channel on the bottom. Water-pop, Pre-age, ceruse with smoke, 2 layers of waterbased sealant, finished with 3 layers of durable satin water-based poly, all applied via roller and brush after hand sanding and/or wire brushing between each step for an optimal finish. Final glue up on-site and the final layer of satin for a seamless finish.
She purdy. She sturdy. Ease of clean when she dirty.

A short visual genesis of developing our logo. A Lignum Vitae(guaiacum sanctum) tree reflected by the left hemisphere of our brain with the roots of a nervous system. In an oversimplified explanation the left of our brain is associated with logic, analytical thinking, and language processing, while the right hemisphere of our brain is linked with creativity, intuition, and holistic thinking. Also, the cerebellum shown in the rear of our brain is responsible for coordinating our movements, forever directing us towards what we aim at.

Some “bedside steps” for a client in Tahoe who purchased a platform bed from me a smidge too-tall for his 5’ wife. Live edge steps made from a slab of reclaimed pine and the body made from a recycled headboard.

Come check out our new inventory sold exclusively at Mattress King!!! Including but not limited to bespoke tables, local handmade ceramics, and highly figured kiln dried slabs and claro walnut burl cookies. Some of these cookies are over 5’ wide!!!

A set of 18 Live-edge oak stair treads and a matching 5’x8’ live-edge stair landing we just finished for a client up in Cleer Creek. Pre-aged and cerused with a durable satin finish. Keep an eye out for more content on the manufacturing process. These were tedious and rewarding to make for certain.

Experimental glaze combinations out of the Vitae Customs studio. So much more to come from this ceramic collection! This photo dump is only the beginning.

Our partner Justin’s Claro Walnut desk top getting flattened and surfaced with stunning results.