About
Forest Rose Joinery is a small, one-person timber-frame shop owned by Landon Slater, based in Lancaster, Ohio.
I aspire to create structures that are designed and built in the spirit of traditional timber-craft.
Insomuch, I aim for each project to be a sum of parts that are:
Historically Proven
In terms of material selection and methods - prioritizing structural soundness and longevity over convenience and expediency
Cohesive
In overall design and underlying joinery, in pursuit of creating structures that blend in rather than stand out
Fabricated Mindfully
So as to not take for granted having the chance to do this personally meaningful and rewarding work
About Landon
When I graduated from college in 2017, I started working for both my family’s local hardware store and a small timber-frame shop, in Lancaster, Ohio. At each place, I had selfless and inquisitive mentors that patiently and graciously taught me seemingly all that they knew. I developed a nearly equal passion for both the family hardware and timber framing, and was having a terribly hard time deciding which door I wanted to take my foot out of, in order to fully pursue the other. Unfortunately (or fortunately; still deciding), the small timber frame shop closed in 2023, when my boss, Steve Gorby, retired (for the second time!), and shortly after, my family decided to permanently close the hardware store.
Around the same time, my dad was looking for someone to take over the wood-product manufacturing for his strength equipment company, which led to my gentle entry into self-employment. I am three years into this as I write, and while there are many things I enjoy about this work (chief among them getting to work closely with my dad), my passion leans heavily toward the challenging and meaningful nature of more traditional timber-craft.
While I am not yet complete with strength equipment work, “Forest Rose Joinery” is an intentional step back toward traditional timber framing.
About "Forest Rose"
When self-employment started, I took advantage of a slightly more flexible schedule and started taking my dog on long morning walks through a beautiful and peaceful, nature-filled cemetery near my house. It was on these walks, devoid of music or podcasts, that Pete (my dog) and I tried to work out many of life’s current problems; a main one being how I might work my way back to timber-framing. Pete did a great job of making sure I was free from distraction (apologies to the deer, racoons, groundhogs, birds, other dogs, and passersby in general), and step-by-step, we made our way here. “Forest Rose” in name is a direct homage to that wonderful place - one where we continue to contemplate and plan every morning.
Experience
-
8+ years of professional timber-framing and woodworking
-
20+ years of assisting customers, breaking things, fixing things, dealing with family, and learning lots from the great and seasoned minds at my family's hardware store
Education
-
B.S. in Natural Resource Management, The Ohio State University (2017)
Courses
-
Timber Frame Design and Joinery Designs - The Heartwood School, July 2022
-
Intro to Sketchup - The Heartwood School, July 2021
-
Timber Framing: A Traditional Approach - Hancock Shaker Village (Jack Sobon and Dave Carlon), September 2017
About Landon
When I graduated from college in 2017, I started working for both my family’s local hardware store and a small timber-frame shop, in Lancaster, Ohio. At each place, I had selfless and inquisitive mentors that patiently and graciously taught me seemingly all that they knew. I developed a nearly equal passion for both the family hardware and timber framing, and was having a terribly hard time deciding which door I wanted to take my foot out of, in order to fully pursue the other. Unfortunately (or fortunately; still deciding), the small timber frame shop closed in 2023, when my boss, Steve Gorby, retired (for the second time!), and shortly after, my family decided to permanently close the hardware store.
Around the same time, my dad was looking for someone to take over the wood-product manufacturing for his strength equipment company, which led to my gentle entry into self-employment. I am three years into this as I write, and while there are many things I enjoy about this work (chief among them getting to work closely with my dad), my passion leans heavily toward the challenging and meaningful nature of more traditional timber-craft.
While I am not yet complete with strength equipment work, “Forest Rose Joinery” is an intentional step back toward traditional timber framing.
About "Forest Rose"
When self-employment started, I took advantage of a slightly more flexible schedule and started taking my dog on long morning walks through a beautiful and peaceful, nature-filled cemetery near my house. It was on these walks, devoid of music or podcasts, that Pete (my dog) and I tried to work out many of life’s current problems; a main one being how I might work my way back to timber-framing. Pete did a great job of making sure I was free from distraction (apologies to the deer, racoons, groundhogs, birds, other dogs, and passersby in general), and step-by-step, we made our way here. “Forest Rose” in name is a direct homage to that wonderful place - one where we continue to contemplate and plan every morning.
Experience
-
8+ years of professional timber-framing and woodworking
-
20+ years of assisting customers, breaking things, fixing things, dealing with family, and learning lots from the great and seasoned minds at my family's hardware store
Education
-
B.S. in Natural Resource Management, The Ohio State University (2017)
Courses
-
Timber Frame Design and Joinery Designs - The Heartwood School, July 2022
-
Intro to Sketchup - The Heartwood School, July 2021
-
Timber Framing: A Traditional Approach - Hancock Shaker Village (Jack Sobon and Dave Carlon), September 2017