Meet Matthew Ladwig

Today we’d like to introduce you to Matthew Ladwig.

Hi Matthew, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Lazy Sons Woodworking is a small start-up business that adopted its name from my family-owned ranch. My family has owned a small ranch in west Arvada since 1912, and the family brand has been the inspiration of the name. Woodworking is a second job to me, since my primary job is as a local Colorado firefighter, and I do many of my projects on my days away from the station. The business started with family and friends in 2017, and was originally an inspiration to me because of my grandfather. Growing up, my grandpa was a woodworker on his days off from being a mechanic. He built many things for my mom and her sisters: windmills, toy chests, sewing baskets, and so on. He passed away about five years ago, and I regret not trying to learn more from him before he passed. I did, however, receive many tools that he used and had even built himself. His passion and legacy has pushed me even harder to follow in his footsteps. Since I am just starting my business, I have had only a few clients, but I look forward to continually improving my skills and building more in the future.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Since this is a second job for me, it has been pretty smooth overall, besides for the fact that my wife thinks I am taking over the entire garage, which is not true. Until recently, I wasn’t taking orders from customers outside of my friends and family. One struggle I am identifying is growing in connections with other woodworkers and finding mentors. You can only find out so much on YouTube on how to make certain joints or jigs before you need a mentor to step in and teach me new tricks/methods. I am learning and experimenting more with every project, and finding new techniques that work and always improving skills.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a self-taught woodworker. I specialize in rustic furniture, tables, home decor, outdoor furniture, and various smaller household items. Growing up on a farm, I have always been partial to rustic items, and I really enjoy creating new pieces that have that look and feel to it. Thus far, I am most proud of a dining room table I made for my own home; it is a large 9ftx4ft table that has a very rustic feel with a modern touch. It has been perfect for holidays and endless conversations with friends and neighbors.

How do you define success?
Success is creating a goal for yourself and reaching it. It could be something as small as setting up the workshop, or as big as having too many orders that I can’t keep up. Only you can define what success is for you, don’t let anyone else define it for you.

Pricing:

• Small Items: $8 – $45
• Medium: $100 – $200
• Large: $200+

Contact Info:

• Email: lazysonsww@gmail.com
• Website: https://lazy-sons-woodworking.business.site/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lazysonsww/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lazysonsww/?view_public_for=107197071125131

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