Scavenger Woodworks was recently featured on HGTV, but the husband-and-wife team behind the custom furniture business say it has humble beginnings.
Brittney and Trae Gaddis began making pieces from wood pallets back in 2014, making furniture for their home when times were tough. Previously, they’d sold their belongings to travel the country together and when the time came to furnish a house, they needed most items. Though neither had woodworking experience, they were able to create hand-painted signs and coffee tables from the pallets and sell them online. As they got access to reclaimed barnwood, they started making more furniture and getting orders from family and friends.
While Trae focused on woodworking, Brittney focused on marketing. She designed a logo and a brand for Scavenger Woodworks — which gets its name from the way they first acquired reclaimed wood.
Though they’re back in their hometown of Owensboro now, the business took off when they moved to Bend, Oregon in 2016. Brittney said the projects in Oregon were more of a modern rustic style and not the farmhouse style so popular in Kentucky.
In Oregon, the business grew enough that Trae was able to pursue woodworking full-time, and Brittney launched her own boutique digital agency, Honey+Hare.
“I really think, even beyond his designs, the brand got us noticed,” Brittney said. “The brand is interesting and it made people notice.”
HGTV noticed. They found Scavenger through their website and Instagram, asking them to participate on the show Mom & Me. The renovation show follows mother-and-son duo Karrie and Tristan Trowbridge as they restore neglected houses in Oregon.
“We would talk back and forth with the lady that’s on the show before everything, and the producer emailed us about putting furniture in the house,” Brittney said. Trae can be seen in the sixth episode of the series, while his work is featured in two other episodes, which premiered in March.
Currently, The Gaddises are renovating a home in Owensboro and taking a break from the business to focus on their own space. They’re sharing their personal projects on social media, and plan to start taking large custom orders again. “We’re always open to the right projects,” Brittney said.
Honey+Hare is taking on Owensboro clients. “With small businesses, we start from the bottom up,” Brittney said. “We start with new logos and a website and make it cohesive. We offer marketing and copywriting.” The agency has a reach into not only Owensboro but also Oregon and Austin, Texas.
“That’s how his (Trae’s) business picked up as fast as it did,” she said. “The brand is memorable.”
You can follow along with Scavenger Woodworks at www.scavengerwoodworks.com and Honey+Hare at www.honeyandhare.com.
