🌲 Field Trip: Partnering With a Missouri‑Made Laser Supply Vendor

Locally milled. Locally crafted. Locally powered.

There’s something special about building a maker brand with materials that come from the same land you work on — and this week, Bear Claw Jewelry & Oddities is taking a field trip to meet a brand‑new Missouri‑based supplier for our laser engraving stock.

This isn’t just any vendor. This is a full‑cycle craftsman:

• They mill their own lumber

• Kiln‑dry it on‑site

• Plane and route the edges

• And prepare each board with the kind of care only a small‑batch Missouri shop can deliver

For a maker like me — someone who engraves, carves, and transforms raw material into mystical, primal creations — knowing exactly where the wood comes from matters. It means consistency. It means quality. And it means supporting another local craftsman who takes pride in their work.

This partnership will open the door to:

• Higher‑quality engraving blanks

• More consistent grain patterns

• Custom‑cut sizes for Bear Claw products

• Missouri‑sourced materials for a more authentic story

• And future collaborations as both of our shops grow

I’ll be sharing photos, details, and behind‑the‑scenes moments from the trip soon. This is the start of something exciting — a chance to bring even more locally crafted magic into every piece I make.

Stay tuned for updates from the road and the workshop. The Bear Claw story keeps growing, one board at a time.