A LETTER FROM THE FOUNDER
Hello, I am Maxim
In 2018, we visited our friends on the island of Crete and experienced their craft first-hand. We spent time in the workshop, helping them prepare the wood before it was shaped. We learned every step of the process: the air-drying, the reading of the grain, the slow hand-carving, the beeswax finish. We left Crete carrying something that stayed with us.
Two years ago, we decided it was time to bring their work to Canada. That is how Olive Wood Work began.
Today, every board, bowl, and serving piece in our shop is still hand crafted by the same friends and their team on Crete. I bring their work to Canada, and I personally finish every piece in my Oshawa workshop before it ships to you. Family names, wedding dates, new addresses, monograms, a quote that means something. If you can write it, I can engrave it.
This is not a mass production brand. It is a bridge between a workshop on a Greek island and a kitchen counter in Canada. I hope you feel that when you open the box.
THE WOOD
500-Year-Old Trees. Zero Cut Down.
Olive trees on Crete can live for more than 500 years. Some of the trees that produced the wood in your board were already old when your great-grandparents were born.
We do not cut down living trees. Every piece of olive wood we use comes from branches that have been pruned during normal grove maintenance, or from trees at the very end of their fruit-producing life. The tree gives up the wood the same way it gave up its fruit: when it is ready.
That is why every board has a grain pattern that took a century or more to form. And why no two boards will ever be identical. There are exactly two boards on earth like the one you buy from us: the one you keep and the one you give.
THE CRAFT
Hand Shaped. Hand Finished. Hand Engraved.
Every piece is shaped and sanded by hand in the Cretan workshop. No glue. No seams. No chemical finishes. Each board is sealed with food-safe beeswax and olive oil, the same combination Cretan families have used for generations.
When the pieces arrive in Canada, I inspect every single one. The ones that pass come to my Oshawa workshop. The engraving is done by hand on a machine I operate myself, which means I see every name, every date, every message before it ships. If something is not right, it does not go out.
OUR PROMISES
What Every Olive Wood Work Piece Promises
Hand Crafted in Crete
By a master artisan and his team. Every piece shaped by hand since 2000.
Sustainably Sourced
Only from pruned branches and end-of-life trees. Never a living tree.
Food Safe
Finished in beeswax and olive oil. No chemicals, no lacquers, ever.
Finished in Oshawa
Every piece goes through our Oshawa workshop before it ships to you.
The Olive Wood Work Promise
"If your piece is not everything I promised, tell me within 60 days and I will replace it or refund you. No questions asked. Your trust is worth more to me than any single sale."
— Maxim
Who We Make For
Made for the Moments That Matter
Olive Wood Work pieces are given and kept for the moments that matter most.
Weddings & Engagements
A board engraved with the couple's names and wedding date. The gift that goes on the counter, not in a closet.
Anniversaries
Wood is the traditional 5th anniversary gift. Make it one of a kind.
Housewarmings
A family name board for the new home. The first thing that makes a house feel like theirs.
Corporate Gifting
Logo engraving and bulk orders available. Contact us directly for pricing.
Closing Gifts
Realtors across Durham Region choose Olive Wood Work because clients remember it. Every. Single. Time.
Custom Requests
A quote, a date, a set of coordinates. If you can write it, we can engrave it.