What tools are used to carve the wood?

Mainly gouges of different widths and curvatures: the wider ones rough out the overall volume, and the finer ones handle detail work like a bird's feathers or a frame's openwork.

Is the varnish safe for pieces that touch food or drink?

Yes, food-contact pieces — like coffee drippers and kitchen sets — use a food-safe varnish. Purely decorative pieces get a different natural varnish, not intended for food contact.

How can I tell if a carving is really handmade?

Look for variation between pieces of the same design: if two are perfectly identical, they probably came from a mold or a CNC router instead of a gouge. Weight and density to the touch are also good signs of solid wood.

How do I care for a carved piece so the varnish doesn't get damaged?

Clean with a dry or slightly damp cloth, avoid soaking or dishwashing kitchen pieces, keep it away from prolonged direct sunlight, and apply food-safe mineral oil once or twice a year.

Why doesn't my piece look exactly like the photo?

The design and proportions match the photo, but the specific wood grain is unique to each hand-carved piece. It's proof the piece is genuine and not a mass-produced replica.

Costa Rica Wood Carvings: Technique, Woods and Finishes

How a piece is carved, step by step

A wood carving from our workshop starts with a block of wood chosen for its grain and the absence of problem knots, not a template stamped out without judgment. The artisan sketches the design onto the block by hand, then works with gouges of different widths and curvatures: the wider gouges rough out the piece's overall volume, and the finer ones handle detail — a toucan's feathers, the texture of an iguana's skin, the openwork of a mirror frame.

The process is progressive: fine detail isn't carved before the overall volume is well defined, because a mistake at that early stage is much harder to fix later. Depending on complexity, a piece can take anywhere from a few hours (a painted mug, a napkin holder) to several days of work (a detailed sculpture or a large openwork mirror frame).

Painted pieces — like the enamel mugs — follow a different but equally manual logic: the design is painted directly onto the enameled surface, layer by layer, with no stencil that repeats identically from one unit to the next. That's why two mugs of the same design can show a slightly different line on a bird's beak or the edge of a leaf: it's the same hand, not the same machine.

The woods: why cedro amargo and laurel

Cedro amargo (bitter cedar) is used mainly for pieces that need fine detail — mirror frames, sculptures, wall reliefs — because its fairly straight grain responds well to the gouge without splintering along thin edges. Laurel, denser and more heavily grained, is reserved for everyday pieces that take regular knocks and moisture, like coffee drippers and kitchen utensils, where durability matters more than the fineness of the carving.

Neither wood is sanded down to hide its natural grain — that visible texture is part of the intended result, and it's exactly what keeps two pieces of the same design from ever looking visually identical.