Back to Our Roots: The Making of Our Handcrafted Cedar Sandwich Boards

It all started with cedar. A western red cedar tree on Salt Spring Island, that is.

You may have already seen our handcrafted cedar sandwich boards cropping up at various cafes and locations across BC. They’re born from a shared vision, and they represent the collaborative work of different members of the Salt Spring Coffee team and various partners. They’re built with an eye for quality and sustainability, and they pay homage to our company’s Salt Spring Island roots.

There are many people involved in bringing this project to life, particularly our talented Ross McLeod (who worked with Don Dashwood, Salt Spring Coffee’s in-house carpenter and a renowned builder on Salt Spring Island). The drawing and artistic vision was prepared by the Salt Spring Coffee marketing team and their creative partners at Exhibit A: Design Group. The western red cedar planks came from a mill on Salt Spring Island, cut with the only remaining circular saw on Salt Spring.

With a goal of building 40 sandwich boards, the process began.

Planks ready to be cut into 3 foot pieces.

Pieces ready to be assembled.

Creating the “legs” of the board.

The finished “legs”.

“Header” pieces, which house the Salt Spring Coffee logo, were cut, sanded, and routered (the logo was stenciled and etched into the wood.)

The header boards and oak plugs were carefully coated with a water-based Varathane wood stain spray.

Oak plugs left to dry.

Embodying our values of quality and sustainability, the sandwich boards are built to last: the water-based stain ensures a longer life span and protects against weathering. What’s more, the oak plugs and header board can be removed and replaced if they get damaged in any way.

Once all of the individual pieces were ready, final assembly began, and after countless hours of hard work and planning, the sandwich boards were finally completed.

One of the final steps of the process: preparing the message board for inserting the oak plugs.

It all comes together.

We’re as proud of these sandwich boards as we are of our Salt Spring Island roots. We’d like to thank everyone who had a hand in their construction, including the steadfast western red cedar tree on Salt Spring Island, where it all began.

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