Hello, I’m Mathew Flud, founder of Afoot Wood Goods.
I started AWG to bring a different flavor to home ware, inject creativity and originality into otherwise steady household items. These days there’s an endless amount of options but everything still is more of the same. Seemingly infinite options to choose from yet for some reason everything is boring, beige, or the result of an algorithm choosing everyone's style.
Making things has always been a constant in my life, and it’s been something I’ve always been told to keep doing. My dad is a carpenter/ woodworker, my grandpa was a logger, my great grandpa was the engineer on the lumber train, and my great great grandpa was none other than Paul Bunyan himself. You can say wood and making things are in my bones.
I grew up following my dad around the house and neighborhood as a helper and tool mule. Eventually I was able to learn my way around the tool shed and started making my own projects. From selling cornhole sets in college for beer money to designing and building furniture for all my dwellings over the years, I quickly became enthralled with the craft of working with my hands. Once I discovered woodworking, and design there was no stopping this train. I love to study different fields of design: graphic design, interior design, photography, furniture design, finding inspiration, learnings and even dislikes from anything and everything.
I became fascinated by the intersection of art and function. An item’s purpose is either art or to serve an actual function. However once an item's functionality is met, why not add some creativity to it? You still have to look at it. In my opinion good art and design are timeless. When something is made to capitalize on a trend or quick fad it's just another piece of plastic destined for a landfill.
It’s annoying that I can't just make things. I have to inject creativity, craftsmanship and originality into it just to make things difficult on myself. I love bringing a folksy whimsical element to items that are otherwise square or only functional. Repurposing found materials from the past is a blast as they often have already lived a life of their own and have an authentic, irreplaceable patina.
The world is filled with junk, not necessarily useless but when quality and compassion are not included these things tend never to be of much value. When someone says “why it is so expensive?” I tend to think “how is it so cheap?” What corners are being cut? How sustainable is it? Are workers being exploited? I strive to bring back the days where craftsmanship can be seen, felt, and understood so that people will start to value their possessions again. When items are made with quality and compassion they come with higher costs but also a much higher value.