When Hyattsville native Blake Sloane left to attend Binghamton University in upstate New York, he fully intended to study music and one day work in Hollywood, scoring, arranging and assembling pieces to produce something greater than the sum of its parts. Along the way, though, he found something he loved just as much as music: woodworking.
Today, Sloane is the owner of Forty Third Place, a small woodworking studio that produces small everyday items such as trays and wall art but also for larger items like dining tables, chairs, built-in cabinetry and bath vanities. He is also known for indulging whimsical and unconventional customer requests–a live-edge bar top or wood mosaic feature walls, for example–that help spaces feel special.
This is why Nicole Tysvaer, PhD, co-founder and CEO of Symbi Homes in Cabin John, Md., and the now-shuttered Hyattsville-based remodeling company, Galaxy Homes, is a frequent collaborator with Sloane.
“I absolutely love Blake’s pieces,” said Tysvaer, who has commissioned the craftsman no fewer than six times. “He’s a very talented artist and craftsperson with a wonderful design eye and great attention to detail. I also appreciate that Blake prioritizes sustainability; he has used reclaimed wood materials on most of our projects.”
Sloane’s woodworking journey largely happened by accident, though its foundation was laid many years ago.
“I went through the tech program at [Eleanor Roosevelt High School], and we had some really great shop classes there, so that kind of started it,” he said. “Even before that, my dad used to refinish furniture and was into collecting antiques and stuff, so I’ve always used my hands.”
For our new Makers series, Sloane talks about his time growing up in Hyattsville, his woodworking journey, and how he and his wife (inadvertently) launched the studio.