Meet Artisan Pirate

Today we’d like to introduce you to Artisan Pirate.

Hi Artisan, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story? 
I first started woodworking at the age of 14 under my Pa-Paw’s guidance and quickly took to the scroll saw and started cranking out projects. When I was around 19, I quit woodworking; I just lost interest and wanted to try other things as well. When my Pa-Paw sadly passed in December of 2012, I went back out to the workshop (he had built it from the ground up and is 12foot x 24foot) to feel closer to him and have some form of closure as I wasn’t able to get to him in time for a final goodbye… 

Well, naturally, I started to remember the good times, and I started to clean the shop and get it back to looking good because the last few years of his life, Pa-Paw had let the workshop become a “catch-all.” 

So, after cleaning out the shop for about a month, I lit a fire in the woodstove, sat back with a cup of coffee, and just sat there remembering the man that had taught me so much. My tear-filled eyes drifted over to the scroll saw (at the time a 16-inch delta saw) and thought I would do just one more project to see if I still liked scrolling. 

Well… One project led to 2, then that led to several hundred. 

In 2017 I uploaded my first YouTube video on scrolling (its cringe worthy for me to look back on) But, I felt I had a knack for teaching so, I kept making videos and finally found a formula that worked for me. 

I hope along the way I have taught someone, both young and old, a tip or trick to make their scroll sawing more enjoyable because scrolling is very therapeutic for me, and I feel I do my best thinking while at my scroll saw. 

I am in Burlington, NC, and have been a resident here all my life. I love my hometown and help with community events by dressing as a pirate and occasionally setting up as a vendor to sell my scroll saw work. 

I am primarily on YouTube and most of the popular social media sites, and I am always up for a chat or conversation. 

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Woodworking is a constant trial and error process; you never know how each piece of wood you work with is gonna react to how you wanna cut it. I have had so many incredible people help me along the way, and I can never thank them enough. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a content creator for YouTube specializing in Scroll Saw Woodworking, but the channel has evolved over the years to have other types of content on it. I do take limited custom orders when it comes to woodworking and also 3d printing orders. 

I also dress up like a pirate for community and social events to put smiles on faces 

Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I was an only child growing up and the only boy born in the family, I was always a loner and a bit of an outcast, not a recluse or anything, I just always kept to myself. When I was young, I loved playing with my model trains and Hot Wheels cars, and I also loved playing my retro video games 

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artisan.pirate/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/artisanpirate

Image Credits
Steve Good