Small Business Spotlight: Kentwood Carving

Every local business has a story worth sharing with the community. And that’s the belief behind this exciting series — to shine the spotlight on all our favorite local businesses, and to learn a little about the ones we may not know that well.

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Business: Kentwood Carving

Owners: Stephen Wilhelm

Website: www.kentwoodcarving.com

Address: Kent (Carmel), NY

Email: kentwoodcarving@gmail.com

Phone: (845) 705-9060

How did you come up with the name?

When my wife and I were looking for a business name, we wanted a name that signified that the business is local and stated that I was making original hand carved wood carvings. We live in Kent, NY and by Kentwood Lake and thought it would be a great play on words to call the business Kentwood Carving.

Why start a business in this town?

Kentwood Carving is currently operated from my home as it is difficult for me to travel on certain days due to disabling diseases that I am fighting.

What business are you in?

I am in the business of creating original old fashioned wood carvings (using only knifes for carving) out of natural, reclaimed and local barn wood.

What’s the most difficult challenge you’ve faced as a business owner?

My biggest challenge is getting my wood carvings in public view as Kentwood Carving does not have a physical storefront.

What’s been your proudest achievement since opening?

My proudest moments are when a customer sees their carving for the first time and smiles at the artwork I created for them!

How does your business give back to the community?

Kentwood Carving is setting up a program to give back to the community by providing free carving lessons and resources to active service members or veterans of the U.S. Military. Please visit our community service page for more information.

About us:

Stephen started woodworking as a hobby at the age of ten and worked for many years as an engineer until he could no longer work due a disabling illness. During the worst stages of his illness, Stephen started to hand carve wood on a recommendation from his doctors to help deal with the stress and anxiety from the illness.

After hundreds of hours of carving and years of recovery, Stephen began to recognize how much creating artwork helped him mentally through the toughest periods and wanted to share his passion for wood carving with others.

This is when Stephen and his wife Christine came up with the concept of Kentwood Carving to sell his original artwork as a way to manage stress and share old fashioned wood carving. Stephen carefully hand designs, cuts, planes, carves and finishes each piece of artwork.