Mitten Carving & Design
Artisan work shaped by place, material, and meaning.
Mitten Carving & Design is an artisan practice rooted in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula and guided by respect for materials, process, and story.
Each piece begins with intention—often long before a tool touches wood—and carries forward the history of where it came from, who shaped it, and why it exists.
This is not mass production. This is one-of-a-kind work, made slowly and deliberately, for people who care where things come from.
The Work
Mitten Carving & Design creates custom, commission-based pieces that blend function, craft, and meaning.
The work includes functional art, legacy restorations, and material-led design shaped through carving, engraving, and mixed media. While wood is a primary medium, the practice is not limited to woodworking alone. Any material that can be shaped with care, intention, and artisanship has a place here.
Every piece is designed to be lived with—not rushed, not disposable, and never decorative without purpose.
Featured Work
Legacy & Restoration Projects
Legacy Restoration: DJ’s IGA Sign
This piece chronicles a completed legacy restoration, preserving both the craftsmanship and the story carried by the original sign.
The carved panel features a whitetail buck set into a wooded landscape, framed in reclaimed timber and finished by hand to retain the character earned through time. Rather than erasing wear, the restoration honors it, allowing age, tool marks, and material history to remain visible.
Lettering and painted elements were stabilized and refreshed with restraint, keeping the sign recognizable to those who remember it while ensuring it can continue to stand for years to come.
This restoration reflects the core philosophy of Mitten Carving & Design: preserve what matters, strengthen what lasts, and never rush the story out of the material.
In Progress: Applewood Light
Applewood harvested from the 2025 ice storm is currently being prepared for finishing as a light.
Applewood is dense, warm-toned, and expressive. The form is being shaped to allow the grain and natural variation to carry the design, with minimal intervention beyond what is required for structure and function.
When complete, the piece will stand as a companion work—another chapter in the same material story.
Materials with a Story
All wood used in Mitten Carving & Design comes from family land in northern Michigan—known as Formanczyk Farms, or Formanczyk North.
Much of the material is reclaimed or responsibly harvested, including wood salvaged from the 2025 ice storm. An apple tree brought down by weather doesn’t end its story—it becomes part of something new.
The material matters. Its history matters. That story travels with the finished piece.
Commission-Based. One of a Kind.
Mitten Carving & Design operates as a custom, commission-based artisan shop.
Small-batch pieces are be offered periodically, but the heart of the work is collaboration—creating something specific for a person, place, or moment.
This work is for homeowners, families, small businesses, gift buyers, collectors, and those who value origin, integrity, and process. Work is currently limited to Michigan’s Lower Peninsula.
Pricing reflects the time, materials, skill, and story involved. This work is meant to be valued, used, and kept.
Start a Conversation
If something here resonates, that’s the invitation.
Whether you have a commission in mind, a legacy or memorial piece to explore, or simply want to follow the work as it unfolds, you’re welcome to reach out.
Start a conversation.
Follow the work.
See what can be made—together.
Slingshot Designs 