Custom Shop

Most of what I build is on the shop pages. This is where the rest of it happens.

If you have something in mind that does not fit a dropdown, a photograph you want cut into wood, a logo, a recipe in someone's handwriting, a shape nobody sells, bring it here. I read every message myself and I answer every one, usually within one business day, including the ones where the honest answer is that it will not work.

Custom cutting board photo-engraved with a dog portrait and a brand logo
A customer sent a photo of their dog. This is what came off the laser.

What I can actually make

Photo and pet engraving. A portrait cut into the face of a board. Pets translate better than people do, as a rule, because fur gives the laser more contrast to work with than skin. This is some of my favorite work and it is the request I get most.

Logos and business gifts. Company marks, team gifts, closing gifts with a brokerage or client name. If you need more than a handful, start at bulk and wholesale instead, since the pricing works differently at volume.

Handwriting and recipes. A recipe card in a grandmother's own hand, a signature from a letter, a note someone wrote. This is the one that makes people cry when they open it. It also engraves cleanly more often than not, because ink on paper is already high contrast.

Patterns and artwork across the whole board. Not every engraving is a name. A flowing line pattern, a contour map of somewhere that matters, an abstract design cut edge to edge. At that scale the engraving stops being a label on the board and becomes the board.

Shapes and sizes nobody stocks. A board cut to the outline of a state, an odd size to fit a specific counter or sink, a thickness the standard listings do not offer.

Anything on the standard boards, worded your way. If you want a phrase, a verse reference, coordinates, or a layout that the three standard engraving styles do not cover, that is a custom order rather than a checkout option.

Custom cutting board engraved with a flowing line pattern across the full face
A pattern cut edge to edge, following the grain rather than fighting it. No name, no logo, no date. Sometimes the artwork is the whole point.

What does not translate to wood

I would rather tell you this now than after you have paid.

Low-resolution photos. An image that looks sharp on a phone screen is often not sharp enough to engrave. The laser reads contrast, not color, so a soft or busy picture comes out muddy no matter how good the original looked to you.

Anything that is all mid-tone. Wood does not hold a gradient the way paper does. Images with real light-to-dark separation engrave beautifully. Flat, evenly lit images do not.

Hairline detail. Tiny text inside a logo, thin decorative borders, fine flourishes. Below a certain size the wood fibers themselves become the limit and the detail fills in.

Long quotes. A full sentence has to shrink to fit the board, and small type on wood grain loses its edge. If your text runs past about forty characters, it will look better on a wall than on a board.

Send it anyway. I will look at the actual file and tell you straight whether it will work, and if it will not, I will usually be able to suggest something close that does.

Custom cutting board commission made in Oregon
A one-off commission that started as exactly this kind of question. No SKU, no listing, built once for one person.

How it works

  1. Send me the idea. Use the form below. Tell me what you are picturing, who it is for, and when you need it. Attach the image if you have one, or reply to my first email with it.
  2. I tell you honestly whether it will work. Including what it will cost and how long it will take. If it is a bad idea I will say so, and I will not charge you for finding out.
  3. I lay it out and show you before anything gets cut. Custom work is the one place where you do see a proof. Standard orders on the shop pages ship engraved exactly as typed, but a one-off gets reviewed with you first, because there is no way to guess a layout you have not seen.
  4. I build it and ship it. Milled, glued, flattened, sanded far past the point most shops stop, and conditioned with our own Board Cream before it leaves.

What it costs and how long it takes

Custom work is quoted individually, because the preparation time is what varies, not the wood. A name in a style I already have set up is close to a standard board. A photograph that has to be rebuilt in high contrast and test-burned is not.

For a sense of scale, the standard boards run from $54 for a small prep board up to $315 for a large teak end-grain block, and the personalized boards sit at $89 to $119 with engraving included. Custom work generally starts from the price of the comparable standard board and goes up from there depending on the artwork.

On timing, be straight with me about your deadline in the first message. Standard personalized orders ship in three to five business days. Custom work takes longer because of the layout stage, and how much longer depends on what you are asking for. If I cannot hit your date I will tell you in the first reply rather than let you find out in week three.

Custom engraved serving board with a flowing line pattern, styled with a glass mug
The same design on a smaller serving board. Custom does not have to mean large or expensive. Sometimes it just means yours.

What to send me

  • The occasion and the deadline, if there is one
  • The image at the largest size you have it, not a screenshot of it
  • Roughly what size board you are picturing, or what it needs to fit
  • Whether you want walnut, maple, or teak, or whether you would rather I recommend one
  • Anything about the person it is for that would change how I build it
Custom walnut butcher block engraved with a company logo and a personal message for a client housewarming gift
A walnut butcher block a renovation company hands its clients at the end of a build. Their logo and tagline underneath, a personal note to the family above it. Two pieces of artwork on one board, which is not something a dropdown can do.

What people have said about custom orders

Custom cutting board cut in the shape of Oregon, a one-off commission from The NW Co.
The Oregon board Tianna is talking about below. She asked, I figured out how to cut it, and it went out the door.

"I custom ordered this Oregon shaped cutting board and The NW Co. made it happen. It's solid wood, beautifully made, and was the perfect gift."
Tianna B.

"Absolutely stunning piece and craftsmanship, and 5 star customer service. Went above and beyond to fulfil my custom request."
Katie K.

Questions people ask before they reach out

Is there a minimum order for a custom cutting board?
No. One board is a perfectly normal custom order, and most of what comes through here is exactly that. If you need ten or more, bulk and wholesale is the better door.

Do you charge for a quote?
No. Send the idea and I will tell you what it takes. You are not committed to anything by asking.

How long does a custom cutting board take?
Longer than a standard order, because of the layout stage. Standard personalized boards ship in three to five business days. A custom piece adds the time it takes to prepare the artwork, show you a proof, and get your approval before anything is cut. Tell me your deadline in the first message and I will tell you in my first reply whether I can hit it.

Can you engrave a photo of a person?
Sometimes, and I will tell you honestly after I see the file. Pets translate better than people do as a rule, because fur gives the laser more contrast to work with than skin. A portrait with real light-to-dark separation can come out beautifully. A flat, evenly lit photo of a face usually does not.

Can you engrave a board I already own?
Sometimes, but ask first. I cannot promise a clean result on a board I did not build, because the existing finish, the species, and how flat the surface actually is all change what the laser does. If it is a sentimental piece, that risk is usually not worth taking.

Will the engraving wear off?
No. It is cut into the wood, not printed or stamped on it. Washing, drying, and oiling will not fade it. Read more in what to engrave on a cutting board.

Is laser engraving food safe?
Yes. Nothing is added to the wood. No ink, no dye, no coating. The laser removes and darkens a very thin layer of the wood itself, and every board is finished by hand with food-grade mineral oil and beeswax before it ships.

Where are these made?
In my shop in Albany, Oregon. By me. Every one.

Send me the idea

Use the form below. It goes straight to me, not to a support queue, and I answer every one myself. Expect a reply within one business day. If you are not sure whether your idea is possible, that is exactly the kind of message I want.

The form cannot take file attachments, so send it first and then reply to my email with your photo, logo, or scan attached at the largest size you have it. If you would rather start by email, write me at khalil.l.burton@gmail.com.

The more you tell me here, the more useful my first reply will be. Nothing on this form commits you to anything, and there is no charge for a quote.

I read and answer these myself, usually within one business day. If you have a photo, a logo, or a scan of someone's handwriting, send this form first and then reply to my email with the file attached at the largest size you have it.