Back To Cali - ISSUE 4 FEB 2020

and also get them personalized why you wait?”
Woodworking is a craft that is slowly losing its following because
of large manufacturers and machines that are doing
all of the work, and not actual people. The Hodo’s want to
make sure that everything they do is handcrafted and made
by the two of them, not an actual machine or large business
that imports from overseas. They also do custom orders for
caterers, restaurants, tasting rooms, wineries and individual
requests such as tables, coffee tables, bars and mantels, and
all of these can be personalized with laser engraving.
The Hodo’s wanted to make sure they could do all of this out
of their wood shop on their property in the Cleveland National
Forest, all while living completely off the grid powered
by solar panels, batteries, a generator and propane. “Being
on the grid is not an option in our area so we had a lot of
learning to do when we bought our property. One concern
was being able to use all of our power tools and machinery
when the sun wasn’t out, so we did a lot of upgrades to our
system in order to support the wood shop area.” Explains
Brian Hodo. “One of the good things about California is the
sun is usually out and shining bright, which benefits the solar
energy production greatly. We’ve only run into a few weeks
out of the year that it’s cloudy or we have precipitation, and
our generator handles those days.” As they grow, they want
to be able to build other structures on their property that will
also be strictly solar, and running off of the sun and generators.
Those buildings will be used for a top of the line clean
room (to do epoxy/ finishing), a sanding room and storage
for supplies.
What sets the Hodo’s apart is their undying work ethic to
their craft, and hand making those special pieces for people
to treasure for years to come. They also love educating
their customers on the process, the varieties of woods
used, the ways to take care of their handmade creations,
once they leave their shop. They are happy to be just a
two person team, and want to keep it small and simple,
while creating pieces for others to enjoy - functional art
is their passion!
They sell their one of kind pieces at Julian Station (4470
Julian Road, Julian, CA) in their retail store, Merdo Acres
Wood Design Studio, which is open on the weekends
(Friday, Saturday and Sunday). Most of their items can be
purchased on their website www.merdoacres.com, 24
hours a day, or if there’s special requests, email them at
merdoacres@yahoo.com.
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