Helmsen Joinery

Website is FINALLY live as I had a spare few hours to get it organized. Go take a gander at the link in my bio (or if you're too lazy, and I get it, at helmsenjoinery.com) and tell your friends!

Added some more storage space to this kitchen with this new kitchen island extension cabinet, stain-matched to the existing cabinets. I love how perfectly it nestles under the countertop overhang, almost like it's custom Added some functionality to the pantry and lower cabinet with inset drawers. And threw in some push-to-open hardware above the fridge, which I had to make a special jig for. I really liked working with that hardware and think I'll do more push-to-open in th...e future - I like the clean look! Thanks to @scottthecrook for helping with assembly and @nochancenanc for help on the install. It takes a village! #cabinetmaker #cabinetmaking #cabinetry #finecabinetry #supportlocal #renovation #interiordesign #smallbusiness #smallbusinessowner #queer #supportsmallbusiness #custommade #joinery #woodshoplife #sunshinecoastbc #customwoodworking #designermaker #trades #workwithyourhands #queerbusiness #secheltbc #supportcoastal #tradesperson #queerwoodworker

Some cute lil' live edge product shelving out of local cedar for my friends @nourishforyou, who sling the tastiest (and healthiest!) darn bowls on the Coast. Check 'em out! #woodshop #woodworking #woodworkersofinstagram #woodworkers #woodcraft #supportlocal #liveedge #interiordesign #smallbusiness #smallbusinessowner #queer #supportsmallbusiness #custommade #woodshoplife #sunshinecoastbc #customwoodworking #designermaker #trades #workwithyourhands #queerbusiness #secheltbc #supportcoastal #tradesperson #queerwoodworker

Yooooooo check this out! #halfmoonbaybc #oldmachines #powermatic #vintagemachines

Busy sanding and staining and staring at some beautiful local second growth cedar grain and getting ready for some installs next week. Oh aaaaand ordering materials and catching up on accounting and finalizing contracts and getting estimates out. Also finalized plans to expand the shop today and put a deposit down on a steel building which will be ready in 2 weeks!!! Full steam ahead over here #woodshop #woodworking #woodworkersofinstagram #woodworkers #woodcraft #cabinetmaker #finecabinetry #smallbusiness #smallbusinessowner #queer #supportsmallbusiness #custommade #joinery #woodshoplife #sunshinecoastbc #customwoodworking #designermaker #trades #workwithyourhands #queerbusiness #secheltbc #supportcoastal #tradesperson #queerwoodworker

Sleeping on the job #woodshop #woodworking #woodworkersofinstagram #woodworkers #woodcraft #supportlocal #smallbusiness #smallbusinessowner #queer #supportsmallbusiness #custommade #shopdog #dogsofinstagram #woodshoplife #sunshinecoastbc #customwoodworking #designermaker #trades #workwithyourhands #queerbusiness #secheltbc #supportcoastal #adoptdontshop #nwtspca #tradesperson #queerwoodworker

Beyond stoked about my new clamp rack. I'm someone who needs everything in the shop to have its place or else I spend half my time looking for things. Looking forward to many years of organization! #woodshop #woodworking #woodworkersofinstagram #woodworkers #woodcraft #supportlocal #clamp #clamps #smallbusiness #smallbusinessowner #queer #supportsmallbusiness #custommade #organization #alwaysbeknolling #woodshoplife #sunshinecoastbc #customwoodworking #designermaker #trades #workwithyourhands #queerbusiness #secheltbc #supportcoastal #tradesperson #queerwoodworker

Finished up the shop ceiling and trim this week in preparation for my SawStop and my bandsaw to arrive on Monday!! Since my wife was busy with work this week and couldn't lend her skillz to the task I wedged this 2x4 named Lee against each preceding board to help prop up the end of the next board while I nailed in the opposite end. This helped a ton since I'm not nearly strong enough to hold up a 14' board by myself - guess I gotta hit the gym I was able to make the wind...ow and ceiling trim out of leftover scraps from the tongue and groove which was awesome - love not having to buy more material. Happy with how the shop is looking and excited to start working on some shop storage projects! #woodshop #woodworking #woodworkersofinstagram #woodworkers #woodcraft #supportlocal #renovation #interiordesign #smallbusiness #smallbusinessowner #queer #supportsmallbusiness #reducereuserecycle #woodshoplife #sunshinecoastbc #customwoodworking #designermaker #trades #workwithyourhands #queerbusiness #secheltbc #supportcoastal #interiordesignvancouver #pnwdesign #tradesperson #queerwoodworker

Door install complete! Love me an even reveal all the way around a door. This one took some fanagling due to some seriously out of square walls (a half inch over 6 feet) but it came out looking great. This pantry door really completes this kitchen and complements the fir millwork throughout the rest of the home. I love working with clients whose aesthetics are really clear and adding those finishing touches to their beautiful spaces. Still have a bit of baseboard trim work t...o do but waiting until the client gets back from out of town to touch base on it. Onwards this week on the shop - ceiling to put in and ducting to run #woodshop #woodworking #woodworkersofinstagram #woodworkers #woodcraft #supportlocal #renovation #interiordesign #smallbusiness #smallbusinessowner #queer #supportsmallbusiness #custommade #joinery #bespokejoinery #woodshoplife #sunshinecoastbc #customwoodworking #designermaker #trades #workwithyourhands #queerbusiness #secheltbc #supportcoastal #interiordesignvancouver #pnwdesign #tradesperson #queerwoodworker

Getting ready to inlay this gorgeous found stained glass panel into this equally gorgeous fir-skinned door for a wonderful client who has a house full of gorgeous fir. Love using client-found objects to bring a client's vision to fruition, especially when it means working with local lumber Stay tuned for the finished project! #woodshop #woodworking #woodworkersofinstagram #woodworkers #woodcraft #supportlocal #renovation #interiordesign #smallbusiness #smallbusinessowner #queer #supportsmallbusiness #custommade #joinery #bespokejoinery #woodshoplife #sunshinecoastbc #customwoodworking #designermaker #trades #workwithyourhands #queerbusiness #secheltbc #supportcoastal #interiordesignvancouver #pnwdesign #tradesperson #queerwoodworker

Today's haul and hopefully someday's haul. Pumped for my new clamp rack! Get the good stuff and you won't have to buy the stuff ever again. That's how the saying goes right? #woodshop #woodworking #woodworkersofinstagram #woodworkers #woodcraft #supportlocal #smallbusiness #smallbusinessowner #queer #supportsmallbusiness #woodshoplife #sunshinecoastbc #customwoodworking #designermaker #trades #workwithyourhands #queerbusiness #secheltbc #supportcoastal #tradesperson #queerwoodworker

NERD ALERT Secret not-so-secret thing about me: I love stationary! I've just filled up my first woodworking-related Moleskine and it was time for a new notebook. I found this super cool purple @leuchtturm1917 gridded book while perusing @deserres a couple of months ago. I was about three quarters of the way through my Moleskine at the time and couldn't bear the thought of being without a notebook! I write literally everything down in it before I digitize it - to do lists, c...lient measurements, cut lists, reminders. It's definitely old-school and analog, and I've been going back and forth on switching to a tablet, but there's something about physically writing stuff down on paper that cements it in my memory much better than typing or even using a stylus. This puppy is loaded with cool features like a dual page marker, table of contents, dates at the top of each page, and an expandable envelope in the back. Can't wait to fill it up!

Spent the last couple of (working) days assembling my dust collector with the help, as always, of my lovely wife @l_chrisso the last pic of her with the hair dryer (which we used to loosen up some seals to make them easier to install) we were laughing because we seem to only ever use our hair dryer for shop-related stuff, but it still lives in our bathroom. I think I should just permanently move it into the shop I've placed it just outside of my workshop and am essentiall...y building a sound-proof shed around it so that I don't disrupt my neighbours, or my wife while she's trying to work from home I'll put up a series of progress shots of the shed and the dust collector assembly (which was long, and somewhat needlessly complicated) in my stories Looking forward to a healthy, clean workshop. Now the work of running all the ducting into and throughout the shop begins... #woodshop #woodworking #woodworkersofinstagram #woodworkers #woodcraft #supportlocal #dustcollection #dustcollectionsystem #smallbusiness #smallbusinessowner #queer #supportsmallbusiness #custommade #joinery #bespokejoinery #woodshoplife #sunshinecoastbc #customwoodworking #designermaker #trades #workwithyourhands #queerbusiness #secheltbc #supportcoastal #lagunatools #tradesperson #queerwoodworker

It was a good day out there

Got home from vacation to a garden ravaged by deer while our new patio was being poured so I spent the weekend putting up this fence, and I love how it turned out! We had some leftover cedar 4x4s and 2x4s from the trees we took down last summer to build our garden retaining walls. The rest of the lumber is mill offcuts that would otherwise have been burned. I finished it all with boiled linseed oil. Now we can plant our winter garden without it being all chewed up! Custom, ...creative fences are fun to build, especially when you can use what you have on hand as much as possible. #woodshop #woodworking #woodworkersofinstagram #woodworkers #woodcraft #supportlocal #landscaping #smallbusiness #smallbusinessowner #queer #supportsmallbusiness #custommade #woodshoplife #sunshinecoastbc #customwoodworking #designermaker #trades #workwithyourhands #queerbusiness #secheltbc #supportcoastal #tradesperson #queerwoodworker #reducereuserecycle

PERSONAL POST - as I embark on this journey of starting a business, I've been having soooo many feelings. It's a big thing to go off on your own, and it can feel isolating at times. It's honestly happening a lot faster than I had planned, but I had a terrible experience related to the fact that I am trans at my previous workplace and it became unsustainable for my mental health. I decided that it was going to be hard for me to find a place to work that fits my principal valu...e, which is inclusion. I want to create a venture in which everyone I interact with feels safe and wholeheartedly accepted for who they are. I want to create something that's more than just a paycheck. I want to create something where customers can tell that what I'm doing is from the heart. I started my joinery journey never having held a chisel or a hand plane, and not knowing the difference between a drill and an impact driver, just four years ago. I have learned an enormous amount in that time, but the amazing thing about this trade is that there is so much to know that you will always feel like you're learning an enormous amount. My dream is to one day have a space where I can run classes and workshops for folks who aren't traditionally represented in this trade and pass on the enthusiasm I have for it. If I'm being honest, it's a bit of a self-serving dream in some ways, since doing so would help me build community as well. Coming back to the isolation point, I don't know of a ton of nonbinary joiners or woodworkers, or tradespeople in general for that matter. Lots of people in the trades world look like me, since I am white and present as male, and I experience many of the priveleges that come along with those things. But few share my experience. It would be amazing to connect with more folks who've had similar experiences. If you've followed along this far, to you. Instagram has so much weirdness re: influencers and algorithms but it's also been a really valuable place of learning about my trade, seeing folks live their truths, and a way to make actual real life friends for me (shoutout @meghanwalley ) so I won't be giving it up anytime soon. Xoxo Eoin

Just finished up this super fun and challenging project on a client's boat . The boat is very 80s Miami themed and I've loved working within that vibe. I built this white-washed red oak table to fit the space. What made it so challenging was that it had to be a parallelogram where no two angles were the same . I had fun with my new angle finder . I love how the whitewash shows that awesome oak grain but softens it a bit. I just think it's so pretty! For the other interior ...woodwork, I built the storage baskets and refinished the panel trim and doors with a black stain. The panel and doors required a toooon of stripping, scraping, and sanding. I'll be moving on to some exterior projects on this boat that I'm looking forward to. Definitely would love some more boat projects in the future! This was my last client project before I take a week of vacation and then spend the next month making my shop as efficient, safe, and pleasant to work in as possible. I'll also spend that time brushing up on my Sketchup skills and building up a client list so if you or anyone you know needs some custom woodworking, drop me a line Shop setup posts a'comin' #woodshop #woodworking #woodworkersofinstagram #woodworkers #woodcraft #supportlocal #boatlife #boatwood #smallbusiness #smallbusinessowner #queer #supportsmallbusiness #custommade #joinery #bespokejoinery #woodshoplife #sunshinecoastbc #customwoodworking #designermaker #trades #workwithyourhands #queerbusiness #secheltbc #supportcoastal #tradesperson #queerwoodworker @ Gibsons, British Columbia

My shop is teal (mostly thanks to my @l_chrisso because painting overwhelms me)!!! I'm prepping for the delivery of all my large machines (soooo pumped) and just ordered all my dust collection ducting so I have to make sure all the painting is done before that. I love colour and wanted something that would be cheery during the long, dark, winter months here in HMB. I think this'll do it! For the floors, I'm going to paint them grey and add some anti-slip texture - safety f...irst! I'm also planning to put pine tongue-and-groove on the ceiling and trim out the windows with local cedar. May as well make the shop pretty because I'm going to be spending a lot of time in it #woodshop #woodworking #woodworkersofinstagram #woodworkers #woodcraft #supportlocal #renovation #interiordesign #smallbusiness #smallbusinessowner #queer #supportsmallbusiness #custommade #joinery #bespokejoinery #woodshoplife #sunshinecoastbc #customwoodworking #designermaker #trades #workwithyourhands #queerbusiness #secheltbc #supportcoastal #interiordesignvancouver #pnwdesign #tradesperson #queerwoodworker @ Halfmoon Bay, British Columbia

Just finished up this built-in bathroom shelving in a client's gorgeous bathroom. I loved working with the client on the design, incorporating solid wood, and keeping the gold fixture theme throughout the bathroom. I also love how the cedar adds warmth to the space. This cedar is from a tree I had taken down in my yard and got milled up! Absolutely love using local materials. I also found the hardware at the local Habitat for Humanity Restore. Super fun project! #sunshinecoastbc #secheltbc #joinery #woodworking #woodworkersofinstagram #keepitcoastal #supportlocal #helmsenoriginal #queerbusiness #shelves #builtins #builtnotbought #handmade #reuse #reducereuserecycle @ Sechelt, British Columbia