Sixteen years of finish carpentry. One recession. A whole lot of libraries.
When the housing market collapsed in 2015, I needed to pivot. After 16 years as a finish carpenter in new home construction across Alberta, I knew wood — I just needed something new to build.
I started building neighbourhood libraries, and I haven’t looked back.
I work alone out of a proper woodworking shop in Vauxhall, Alberta — a small town in the heart of southern Alberta that I’ve called home for years. The shop itself is the front half of an old bank building I bought and converted. It’s just me, my tools, and my three goofy dogs.
Every library I build comes from that shop. No assembly lines, no shortcuts, no flat-pack pieces shipped from overseas. Just one carpenter who takes genuine pride in what she builds.
Why little libraries?
Because of moments like this: a woman in Quebec had her neighbourhood library stolen. I donated a replacement, and when I called to tell her, she cried. That story made it onto CBC News — but what I remember most is that phone call.
Or the videos customers send me of someone opening a library as a gift, seeing it for the first time, not quite believing something that beautiful is theirs.
That’s why I do this.
Why buy from Stuckey’s?
When you order from me, you’re ordering from the person who cuts the wood, builds the library, and packs it for shipping. I’ve been working with wood my whole adult life and I put that experience into every single one. These aren’t decorations — they’re built to survive Alberta winters, which means they’re built to survive yours too.