ABOUT US
Unique Western Woodworks was founded by Aaron Robichaud in Boise, Idaho in 2009, but it actually began long before that.
​
Aaron grew up in Red Lodge, Montana, a small town right over the mountains from Yellowstone National Park. His father was a carpenter, and at 10 years old, he began his first job of sweeping up floors for his dad. Aaron proceeded to learn trade as he got older, and during high school, he helped with the relocation and restoration of a turn of the century homestead cabin. It was during this time that he was first introduced to rustic log work and fell in love with the style. When he was 16, he used his dad’s workshop to create his first log chair from driftwood that he had gathered himself from Rock Creek River. Aaron still has this chair today and takes his shoes off regularly on it
Aaron's first chair in his home today
After high school, Aaron decided to pursue his passion for the trade by working on many types of log home projects, from custom kitchen remodels to a 15000 sq ft log home in Big Sky, Montana. One of the most memorable projects he worked on was at Twelve Springs Ranch, a large buffalo ranch located near Big Timber, Montana. On this job with Graden Construction, he had the opportunity to work on two picturesque log cabins that overlooked a pond with elk grazing in the distance on a daily basis. While he was at the ranch, he was able to collect some “buffalo hair” barnwood, which he used to create several beautiful furniture pieces.
Aaron's kids in the first chair he ever built
During these early years of working on log homes, Aaron decided to start a small side business building log furniture for customers and for family and friends. As a young father who was trying to make ends meet, he also built plenty of furniture for his growing family, mostly using the scrap wood from job sites and seasoned logs that he collected from nearby forests. These pieces had to be practical and money conscious, so he learned to sustainably source raw materials for all his projects, which is something that Unique Western Woodworks still practices to this day.
Cabinet made from collected barnwood
Aaron peeling logs that he collected from
local mountain areas
One of Aaron's first beds that he made
In 2007, Aaron and his family moved to Idaho, because they wanted to try somewhere new and had heard great things about the Treasure Valley area. During the first couple years here, Aaron worked as a fine finish carpenter, building cabinets, curved staircases, and custom trim on many of the high end homes in the Valley as well as up in Tamarack and McCall Idaho. In 2009 the construction market was hit heavily by the recession, and he found himself needing to supplement his income more and more due to all the unfinished homes and short sales going on. He made a bed from some wood that was blocking the road on his way to a job site one day by the Boise River. He decided to keep the branches to make a twin size bed from the wood and put it on Craigslist.
That was the start of Unique Western Woodworks. Even during the great recession, his furniture was a huge hit and replaced his job income within a couple of months. After that first bed sold successfully, he continued creating artistic rustic log furniture and other fine woodworking for his customers far and wide. People have enjoyed his fine woodwork from all of Idaho’s surrounding states, as well as places as far south as Texas and Southern California and as far north as British Columbia Canada and Alaska.
THE PROCESS
​
Unique Western Wooodworks is dedicated to creating fine woodworking that is built to last at an affordable price.
There are three main ways that we do this.
​
-
Planning: About 95% of our work is custom made. We work with each customer individually to help them receive what they desire. This starts off as a conversation to develop the idea by using pictures, drawings, and specific questions. We come up with a plan together so you are able to get exactly what you are looking for. We believe that communication, expectations, and upfront clarity of the project are paramount in each order, large or small.
-
The Work: We do the work on every project from start to finish. Every step to create our furniture and cabinets are all done ‘in house’, including collecting all the logs we use, building the projects, and applying the finish for completion. By doing all of this ourselves, we are able to control the quality and craftsmanship of each piece to make sure it is unique and built to last. We do hire professional help from time to time for some areas for our remodels and new construction projects; like plumbers, electricians, and other professional services that we do not specialize in.
-
Availability: Many people ask us when a project can be completed, and as stated above about 95% of our work is custom made, since this is our process we have varying completion times depending on what is ordered. The best way for you to know if a project can be completed in your timeframe is to ask. We will ask you a few questions and we can typically give you a good idea of the completion time frame depending on your order. We also have some pre-made items, like beds and other miscellaneous furniture. These items are available for example and for sale. The items we have in stock are constantly changing, so be to ask for an updated list or check out the link for currently available and this is updated on a daily basis.
​