Meet Luke Raley | Custom furniture and cabinet maker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Luke Raley and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Luke, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
We’ll, I started working in a custom cabinet shop in Texas, with no experience about woodworking, the more I worked, the more knowledgeable I became, and the more fun I started to have. One year before Christmas I was trying to figure out what to get all of my family members and I thought to myself, “why don’t you make cutting boards for everyone, it’s cheap, it’s easy, and everyone needs one!”

So I began making cutting boards enjoyed that more and more. Then the next Christmas my girlfriend ,at the time now my wife, popped off and said “A Texas shaped cutting board would be awesome.” So I began my research and found a template traced it onto wood and began cutting it out by hand on a scroll saw. And from there I had several people reach out to me about them. Out of all the states, I’ve made Texas, Arizona, and Minnesota, and I’m ALWAYS willing to try new states and shapes!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
So, I’m sure a lot of woodworkers say this but, this is a true statement all of my work is filled with joy and excitement. For each new order I get I put all the details that I can into just because I want every single piece to be perfect and unique. A cool thing about all of the state shaped cutting boards is that they are 100% unique non of them are the same. Now, the reason they aren’t the same is because my hand either shakes a little to much as I’m cutting them out and you know what that’s ok because I have so much fun making them and I absolutely love the fact that they are all different.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If you want a place to go eat that’s got some really great food here’s 3 of them, we got scorpion bay grill on lake pleasant, jackelope gastropub in downtown Phoenix, and Angie’s up in Prescott. My wife and I love to make those drives to go eat there

Now for an itinerary, I would come visit wickenburg and explore all the local shops, for lunch I would definitely recommend the Local Press Sandwich Bar and after having fun shopping or renting ATVs I would go to Jakes Spoon in wickenburg Ranch for dinner, they have these delicious cauliflower bites that’s are super good.
Next, I would drive up the back way to Prescott taking highway 89, during the day you can go to all the cool shops get some interesting flavors of olive oil at olive U in downtown Prescott then when the sun set go over to whiskey row and meet some new friends.
Then, I’d head up to flagstaff, if you like breweries that’s the place to be. Like lots of cool cities they have tons of local business that you should always support. And while you’re up north definitely go check out the grand canyon and antelope canyon. And just a good way to end the road trip is head back down towards Phoenix on I17 and make a stop in Sedona and Sunset Point Rest Stop such a great view

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to give a very big shoutout to my Wife, she encourages me to find business and promote new items.

Instagram: LTR.woodworking

Facebook: LTR.woodworking

Other: I do not have a website yet but I am working on one. When it is complete it will be in the bio of both my Instagram and Facebook.