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interact with people and hear their story. Almost every client that I meet tells me their story because it’s linked to the piece. It becomes another personal relationship. I do a lot of memorial stuff, too, and that hits home for me.” Widahl Woodcraft also offers an extensive selection of non-custom pieces created by Brian and his wife. Most of his catalogue customers, particularly those hailing from overseas, prefer Canadian motifs. “They just love Canada,” Brian explained. “They love everything that depicts culture or nature in Alberta, in Canada. I’ve shipped eagles overseas and I’ve shipped cowboy boots and a cowboy hat and an outpost – just stuff that screams Alberta. You can make anything out of a block of wood.” “But I’m always determined to do better and give more of myself to the craft – that’s the goal, to stay persistent.” As fate would have it, Brian recently met some of his overseas patrons at a conference of the International Log Builders Association. “I donated some time on a piece for the conference and I met these phenomenal log builders fromGermany who knewmy work. They were very excited to take a few pieces back home from their first trip to Canada. Everyone I met at the conference was so knowledgeable and just a great group of people. You never know who you can meet at networking events like these: it could be the best client you’ll ever have or it could be a mentor. I defi- nitely plan on making it an annual trip.” For more information about custom work or national or international orders, please visit facebook.com/widahl- woodcraft.
a different way every time like it’s moved.”
Moose Mountain Log Homes has been a lifeline for Widahl Woodcraft in many ways, Brian explained. “The business arrangement I have with those guys is absolutely phenom- enal. They allow me to use their equipment down there to move these massive logs onto my truck. These things are thousands of pounds and I couldn’t do it without them. It’s really tightened my relationship with them even more,” he said. It’s also given Brian an opportunity he never thought possible: to be one of those very carvers he admired as a kid at work with his dad. “If you have a dream, if you have the mindset and the determination, it’s all possible.” “I’m the first phone call for any house carvings with Moose Mountain. They love to give their clients an added personal touch whether it’s a smaller or a larger home. Recently we did amassive theme gate for a home they built for a husband and wife – she’s from Eastern Asia and he’s from Alberta. For their main gate we did two six-foot beavers that look like they’ve chewed off the tops of the gate itself and on the header of the gate there are two 12-foot dragons. The beavers held a lot of meaning for the husband because he’s an engineer himself. We also included the engineer’s insignia as a sort of stamp on the beavers. It’s great to
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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • MAY 2018
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