Nathaniel Gray stands in his wood shop looking over a massive piece of redwood, spanning nearly 4 feet long. The wood is imperfect, full of burls, cracks from drying and hundreds of inner circles, marking a long life for the piece of western larch.

“This is art,” Gray said, gently letting the wood lean back against the wall.  

At Gray’s Wood Shop at his home in Whitefish, the goal is to accentuate the natural art of the products being used, whether that be while creating a lamp, a frame, a table or a custom piece.  

Gray’s Wood Shop, which Gray launched last fall, came out of Gray’s love for decorating, art, photography and creativity. What initially started to frame his own photographs in unique and interesting ways turned into a labor of love: incorporating beautiful wood pieces into the home. 

“I originally started all of this process for my art,” Gray said. “I wanted to create a unique way of framing since I always thought the frame was part of the art. I wanted something heavy, I wanted something organic, I wanted something that embraces the outdoors and gives you roots. Lumber seemed like that was a big part of that.”   

Gray has been a professional photographer for over two decades, utilizing film photography and pairing his photographs with handwritten poems. The art side of his business, Gray Emery Grove, is where he sells the framed images, each adorned with its own poem.  

But with a history of decorating and photography, Gray was able to see the wood as pieces that could be more than a frame, something instead that could be the art itself.  

Growing up on a farm in eastern Washington, Gray was a jack of all trades. His grandfather taught him about woodworking first, building dog and cat houses for the property. In 2018, Gray worked at a specialty sawmill, milling his own lumber for the first time and learning the ropes to big timber. His grandpa’s hand saw hangs on the wall of his shop.  

There are 18 types of lumber in his shop, Gray said, including walnut, big leaf maple, cedar and pine. 

“I’ve got an appreciation for the material and the details that are often overlooked. I keep things that loggers would call firewood, that would be thrown in the burn pile, but I think it’s cool as all get out,” Gray said. 

Take a knotted piece of bark and Gray will turn it into a centerpiece. A longer piece of wood with a natural hole in it  will turn it into a charcuterie board with a handle.  

“Sometimes I’m looking to make a specific piece, but sometimes I’m just exploring what a piece can become,” Gray said.  

Every piece is unique, and Gray can make custom pieces. One of the best things about what he creates is giving it to others, he said. Art is not meant to be held on to, but rather distributed and utilized to change people’s interactions with the world, he said.  

Gray currently brings pieces to Thirty Eight Whitefish on Thursdays and Sundays. As he continues to grow, he hopes to expand to more markets. He takes consultations for free and walk-throughs of the shop by appointment. More information can be accessed at grayswoodshop.com/contact.  

“My knowledge is in larger lumber, and the furniture and ideas that I work with are generally connected to what that lumber is and what it has to say,” Gray said. “Part of what I do is design and part of what I do is listening to what a thing needs to become.”   

Reporter Kate Heston may be reached at 758-4459 or [email protected].