Good Neighbor Podcast: Bergen
Bringing together local businesses and neighbors of Bergen County
Good Neighbor Podcast: Bergen
Ep # 170 - Handmade Design, Local Roots, And A Purpose-Driven Path
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The best businesses don’t start with a pitch deck. They start with a moment you can feel—like buying a house in December, hosting Christmas, and realizing there’s no table for the family to gather around. That urgency became a spark for Natalie and Julian of The Carpentry Shop, and it led to a purpose-driven studio known for showstopping custom furniture, warm wood countertops, and full-home millwork that turns houses into homes.
We talk through the leap from government work and outdoor builds to a thriving workshop in Northvale, NJ, and how COVID forced the team to slow down and sharpen their craft. Natalie shares what separates a handmade piece from a mass-market lookalike: careful sourcing, joinery you can trust, and wood with a past. You’ll hear how they rescue lumber from across the U.S. and South America, why pricing is shaped by tariffs and supply shocks, and how to educate clients on value without the jargon. We also explore their growing partnerships with designers and builders, from custom vanities and kitchens to built-ins that fit the exact life of a room.
Community runs through everything they do. The showroom doubles as a space for local artists like Andrew Weatherly, with proceeds supporting Infinity Equine Therapy Center. There’s a live epoxy demo, curated small-batch goods from independent makers, and an open invitation to discover how furniture is actually made. Natalie also gets personal about building a company with her spouse, raising daughters who aren’t afraid of a drill, and the hard truth every founder faces: purpose is what gets you up the mountain when the plan meets reality.
If you love design, small-batch craft, and stories behind the wood, this conversation will stick with you. Subscribe, share with a friend who loves handmade pieces, and leave a review to help more neighbors find the show. Then tell us: what would your dream custom piece be?
The Carpentry Shop
Natalie Dion
190 Veterans Drive, Northvale, NJ 07647
(646) 933-0736
info@thecarpentryshopco.com
thecarpentryshopco.com
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Doug Drohan.
Doug Drohan:Hey everyone, welcome to another episode of the Good Neighbor Podcast. I am your host, Doug Drohan from the Bergen Neighbors Media Group. Today we are joined by Natalie Dion, the co-owner of the Carpentry Shop, which is an amazing, unique, handmade uh we'll call it Carpentry, but um furnishing store based now in New Jersey, in North Vale, New Jersey. They used to be over the border in Japan. And they made the leap to go from New York to New Jersey just like I did 20-something years ago. Uh Natalie, welcome to the show.
Natalie Dion:Thank you. Glad to be here.
Doug Drohan:Yeah, so you and I met years ago. I had read a story about you and Julian in a in a magazine, and uh I was taken by kind of just the the artwork, I guess you could say the creativity of the tables and and the materials that you guys use. And then, you know, when we met, it was you know, it was more about stories and and the the love that goes into uh what you guys do. And and the funny thing is is that if you go on your website, it says born out of doing something you love every single day. And I think, you know, for anybody who starts a business who's successful, if you're not loving what you're doing, then you know, it's time to close up shop. Would you agree?
Natalie Dion:Yeah, I 100% agree with you. It has to start with purpose. I think that in today's society, there's like so many options out there. And if you're gonna choose to work for yourself and build something, the most important thing that it needs to be built on is purpose. So yes, I definitely agree with you.
Doug Drohan:So how did this purpose come about? It's been like 10 years, right? I mean, what uh what did you do before you got into uh like was your husband a carpenter? Was he a guy that always designed, you know, furniture or like how did this start?
Natalie Dion:Definitely not so I'll give you we'll make this the short version, right? So essentially, uh Julian has always realized that he didn't he never wanted to work in an office since the day I met him. He always said he wanted to be, you know, doing something with his hands, work outside. It's it's just who he is. Um, he comes from a long line of carpenters. His grandfather actually, you know, built homes uh up and up and down the coast in Maine. Um I've been to I've been to them before. We actually um we still uh he the there's one that his family still owns that we get to go to every summer and enjoy. So it's amazing. His his uncles all are all hobbyist carpenters, but Julian is the one who actually decided to go into it as a profession. Um on my side, I actually have a degree in economics uh the Smeal College of Business at Penn State. And um, I actually was working in the federal government and I did that for about 10 years before I decided that I was done.
Intro/Close:Yeah.
Natalie Dion:Um kind of had that moment. And uh, you know, Julian at that time had been operating what was our outdoor company, which is uh he was doing carpentry just basically all outside.
Doug Drohan:Um and for like Manhattan uh like spaces, right? A lot of rooftop spaces.
Natalie Dion:Yep, a lot of rooftops, a lot of backyards, um, really focusing on like you know, decking, outdoor kitchens, fencing, planter boxes, that kind of stuff, you know, kind of rehabbing outdoor spaces. And um I him and I had purchased a house and we needed to furnish it because of course I come from I'm I'm Latina, I'm Puerto Rican Dominican, and we have a big family, and we bought the house uh around December 3rd. And of course, I had to host Christmas, right? Okay, oh wow, no furniture.
Intro/Close:Wow.
Natalie Dion:Um, and so the concept of us making furniture came out of family and necessity, and I needed a dining table. Um, and so you know, he's like, if you design it, I'll build it. And that's really the first pieces we made were for our home out of necessity.
Doug Drohan:Okay. Um and then people came over and said, Wow, this is amazing. Where'd you get it? And you were like, Yeah, exactly.
Natalie Dion:So that's how that's how it started. Um, and then in 2020, I took the leap. I quit my job. Um, and that was actually before COVID. So February 4th of 2020. I remember because my last day was my daughter's birthday, and that's my youngest daughter's birthday. I had quit, and I think later, like two or three weeks later, they shut down the country. My boss actually called me back and said, Do you want your job back? And I said, No, no, we're gonna stand firm. But we used that time during COVID to really practice, and we spent a lot of time in our workshop, just us and our girls, and it was actually a beautiful experience because we started experimenting and really learning and honing our craft, which we wouldn't have gotten that opportunity had the country not actually shut down.
Doug Drohan:Sure. So honing your craft, um, you know, there's another craft that you have to hone when you're a business owner, which is running a business. It's nice to have this talent, but if you don't have any customers, you know, big deal. Um yeah. So how did you guys grow your business? Like, did you have a set plan, or was it kind of organically just through word of mouth, or did you say, this is the people we need to work with? We're gonna make connections here in this industry or whatever. Like, what was your plan? Did you have something like that?
Natalie Dion:So it's this is such a great topic. I'm glad you brought it up. Um, so it really was an organic formation at first. So we had existing clients that we had had from our outdoor, which we kind of sent out an email. Hey, we're now doing interior, we're doing furniture.
Intro/Close:Right.
Natalie Dion:Um, and then also by talking with other business owners and other people in the community, uh, they were actually referring us out and saying, hey, there's this young couple in town. Um, because during COVID, everybody wanted to furnish their house. Everybody wants to get a few years. Yeah, that's true.
Doug Drohan:That's true. Yep.
Natalie Dion:But it saved us. It completely saved us in a way because of that opportunity. People are asking around and they would say, Call this couple. They are, they can make you a table, they can do this. Um, and because we were shut down, right? We couldn't work in the city, we had no income. And as business owners, people don't realize that we don't get to fall back on any type of assistance. If we fail, that's it.
Intro/Close:Yeah, you eat what you kill.
Natalie Dion:Yeah, you eat what you kill, and so it's a different world. And um, you know, we were living off our savings, and then, you know, one couple they asked us for a dining table, and then another couple asked us for a dining table, and it just kept snowballing. And so, yeah, it was really organic in the beginning, um, which was exciting. Um, and now we're at that phase where you're talking about where we're trying to figure out okay, now how do we go out and attract more business and attract the right customers? And that's the phase that we're in now.
Doug Drohan:Okay, yeah, well, I might be able to help you with that, but you know, um, no, that's interesting. And and I think, you know, one of the key, like it's tough to get this across on a podcast, but they have to go to your website, they have to go to your showroom. Um, you know, you build conversation pieces. So when somebody walks in, it's like, whoa, you know, whether it's uh like one of the things I was impressed with is when you were building a kitchen counter, which I never thought, oh, out of wood, you know, why would you want a kitchen counter built out of wood? But you know, it's the way that you laminate it and things like that. But I think you have to see it to understand. So if somebody has a certain um budget and they want that showstopper piece, and they walk into somebody's home and there's a table that you built, uh, you're not getting it at pottery barn, you know, you're not getting it at a, you know, at whatever crate and barrel. So um I think that's what you guys obviously have. Uh in fact, we could talk about this offline, but I just had a a Zoom call with a big design firm in Oakland, New Jersey that does a lot of custom homes. And uh I'm gonna invite him to your uh he and his wife to your uh uh art gallery at the end of the month. See if they should be able to. Well, that's awesome!
Natalie Dion:Thank you. And these are this is what it's about, like connections and community and meeting people and having people, and that's one of your strengths. I would say you've always been a connector. Every time I talk to you, you're like, oh, I know this person who can do this. And and you need people like that. You need people that they form those connections.
Doug Drohan:Yeah, and I think you know, you have to have a like-minded uh approach to I think life and business, you know. Like I'll go back to you know what you say, born out of doing something you love every single day. I think if you lead with the heart, then people will see that and they'll want to work with you. Um, you know, so let's get into some of the product you guys create. Because I've kind of been focusing on tables. And you mentioned, like, I actually bought a planter from you guys, but what are the types of things? Because I get your newsletter uh every week, and sometimes you have other um, maybe online you sell other things that you maybe don't make by hand. But so do you want to go through like what your kind of portfolio of of offerings are?
Natalie Dion:Well, let's go through it. So originally our backbone was outdoor construction. So we went ahead and we created products that are actually for the outdoors. So we have a whole suite of benches, outdoor benches, planter boxes, like you said, you bought a planter box from us. Um, we have uh outdoor trash enclosures, believe it or not, you have this gorgeous home. Yeah, you don't want your trash just outside. So we made these beautiful enclosures um that hide your trash so that you don't have to look at that. Um uh, you know, those are just a few of the products that we have for outside, and then we expanded into interior. Like you said, we have dining tables, we do console, we do uh credenzas, um, we can make sofas, we can make um it's almost endless.
Doug Drohan:Um you make sofas.
Natalie Dion:Yeah, we've made we have a sofa that we love. It's called the Alexandra. I used to have it in the showroom, but then a woman walked in and said, I have to have that couch, I need to buy that one. And I saw I had so we sold it to her. Um, we're gonna make another one. We just haven't had time. Uh but you know we try to get as creative as possible. Like you mentioned, we can do the wood countertops. A lot of people are opting to really bring in that warmth into the kitchen and they'll do a kitchen island. And instead of putting stone in that area, they'll put a nice, beautiful um wood countertop. So we've, you know, we can make those. And now we've really stepped into the mill work. Um, we're working with quite a few builders on new construction homes, and we're actually doing all of the millwork in the house. So the vanities in the bathroom, the kitchens, um, built-in bookcases, all of that stuff, which is okay. So it's it's it's an awesome opportunity. Yeah, because you know, if you're making these huge homes, um it typically, you know, you want a vanity a certain size or you need custom dimensions, it's not something that's off the box. So they come to us and we work with them, and then you know, it's that seamless experience for their customer, which is pretty pretty nice. And then you mentioned the other products. I forgot about those. Yeah, the third-party products. So if you're on my site and you see products, I have the vent, I have the maker listed for each product. Okay. Um, and what you'll see is I'm carrying uh brands of other small businesses. So I have curated a collection of like-minded other small businesses. So we have hardware from Dorver Forge, it's uh made and shipped right out of Florida. I have artisans like Andrew Weatherly. You're gonna come, you're gonna see his art, his art's on our website. So I have curated and found a collection of other like-minded small businesses. Um, we have rugs that are made to order by another artisan. I have stone sinks that I get made. Um, I actually have to import those from Turkey from another artisan. And I've developed all these relationships to curate a collection that is really special. It's limited quantity items. I feature Moe's home collection. They do not do large-scale items. So there might only be 50 of the table that exist, and that's it. And then they'll never make it again. And so it's really awesome because these are also well-made, high-quality items. And so that's the other items that you see on our website.
Doug Drohan:Cool. Now, the wood that you use, um, it's not always your normal uh, you know, oak or cedar. You guys source from different places around the world, right?
Natalie Dion:We do, we do. We source um a lot from South America. Um, we have our domestic lumber as well, which we currently uh, you know, I am sourcing some pieces from California, and then we'll also source from Pennsylvania, from Maine. Um, and the key here is we're repurposing wood that otherwise would have been discarded or would have been repurposed as firewood.
Doug Drohan:Oh wow.
Natalie Dion:So it's cool that we get to save it and give it a new life.
Doug Drohan:Yeah, that's great. Now, were you affected by the tariffs at all when they raised uh tariffs on say Brazilian imports? Was that what was wood part of the import? Yeah.
Natalie Dion:It was so it I it was certain types of lumber um that have uh tariff implications. Yeah, um, and so we definitely were affected, but you know, honestly, since COVID, the price of lumber has just skyrocketed. It didn't come down because it come down a little a little, but I feel like they figured out if you're gonna pay $200 for plywood when it used to be $98, why would they bring it back down to $98 when they that's exactly what I said.
Doug Drohan:That's exactly what I said. It's like that's just what I noticed.
Natalie Dion:Exactly.
Doug Drohan:It's like you know they found like with gas, like the four dollar mark is kind of like go above four, get near five, then people are gonna start curtailing their consumption. But if you stay around four dollars, you know, why drop it back to two?
Natalie Dion:Exactly. They supply and demand economics.
Doug Drohan:Yeah, if demand didn't wane, then yeah, just keep it going. Exactly. So um I wanted to you mentioned Andrew Weatherly, and uh so part of you know what you do is you team up with local artisans and stuff. So uh tell me about this event that you have coming up in a couple weeks.
Natalie Dion:Yeah, I'm extremely excited. So we just moved to a new location, um, and we are inviting people into our location, our shop and our workshop, and they're gonna have the ability to walk through our space, see where we actually work, meet us, speak with us. We're gonna actually have like a small epoxy demonstration going on during the event, and people can actually participate. And at the same time, we're gonna be featuring um Andrew Weatherly as one of the artists, and um, his art is gonna be displayed. It's also gonna be available for purchase, and the um net proceeds are gonna go to the Infinity Equine Therapy Center that's located here uh and it's actually right across the border in New York. Um, and they provide therapeutic services for uh individuals in need, which is awesome. Um, so we thought if we're gonna have an event, we might as well partner with a charity and do it with a bang. We're also gonna have small items for sale as well, a bunch of cutting boards, coasters, things like that, that we're gonna donate the net proceeds also to the charity. Um, so this way we can try to meet their goal. I think they're trying to raise $10,000. And I really hope that we can meet it. Um, I sent out an invitation which includes a link to if you can't make the event and you just want to donate to them, you know, $5, $10, no amount is too little. Um so hopefully people click on that link and donate to the charity.
Doug Drohan:You know, we'll put it in the podcast uh in the summary. I'll have it in there. And what's the date of that?
Natalie Dion:February 27th. It's gonna be from 5 30 to about 8 30.
Doug Drohan:Okay, and you mentioned your new location, which is where?
Natalie Dion:190 Veterans Drive in Northvale, New Jersey.
Doug Drohan:So, for those of you thinking, where's Veterans Drive? Well, if you go to Paris Ave, you go to Bideomaui's, which is an Irish gastro pub, most people know. Uh, you just hang a right by the Catholic Church, and it's this office building there. And um yeah, I mean, I you know, I'm looking forward to that party. It's I mean, the nice thing is that you you bring in uh because you've done this before, uh, a whole host of of different people from not only ones that want to support the charity or support Andrew, but uh, you know, people from your side too, you know, contractors, builders, and designers. And yeah, so it's a great community kind of uh event. So we'll uh we'll make sure we get it out there on this podcast. Um so Natalie, there was one other thing you mentioned your family, and and when I look at you know, you're about us, you've got um, you know, the uh the founders, which are you and your husband, um, you've got CEO co-founder, master carpenter co-founder, and then you have your chief happiness officers, which I'm looking for the picture of a dog. Like, how could you have a chief happiness officer and not have a dog? I know. Anyway, Sophia and Alexandra are your chief happiness officer. So uh, how old are your daughters now?
Natalie Dion:So Allie just turned seven yesterday, and Sophia will turn 10 in about two weeks.
Doug Drohan:Oh, nice, nice. And I have to say, like, um, whether you're male or female, but certainly if you have daughters, I think it's incredibly empowering for them to see you uh and your husband, but to see their parents to, you know, to run a business, um, you know, to build it from scratch. They probably don't remember when you started that. Obviously, you know, uh, they weren't even born when you first started, but I think it's an incredible um display of being a role model. I say to my son, like, you know, when I worked behind a desk for 25 years, um it's not, you know, when you run your own company, everything you do every single day has almost an immediate impact, or you see the fruits of it as it builds over time. And I think um, you know, I I applaud you for being that uh, you know, that role model for your for your daughters and and your husband as well. But I, you know, empowering women is something you know we we uh we believe in as well. I I team up with uh an organization called Wonder Girls, um, who are gonna be in another event that he might come to at Corona Schmidt Spa in a couple of weeks. But I think it's great. I think it's great. Your daughters are, you know, they're in the office. They've seen you guys do this uh from day one and to have that in their kind of uh, you know, through osmosis, you know, into their lives. I think it's incredibly uh empowering for them.
Natalie Dion:I don't know if you agree with that or oh, I a hundred percent agree. They see it, they know what it takes, they understand. Um, I also love their exposure to being in the shop and understanding how things are made. Um, you know, Sophia, don't give her a drill because she she she wants to use it. So, you know, it's nice. They're gonna be capable, they're gonna have the skill set. Um they're not, you know, our goal is that they don't need, you know, they're not gonna need someone to do it for them. They're gonna be able to do it themselves, which is which would be pretty awesome. Um, and then they enjoy learning about business. They do, they're here, they see us answering the phones. Um, and you know, they understand that not everything is always perfect, but we have to solve problems.
Doug Drohan:Yeah, somebody once said the definition of being a business owner is solving problems. Um, I think I I tend to agree with that. So, along those lines, like what advice would you give a new business owner who's thinking about starting? And there's always an excuse, you know, whether it was COVID or it's the economy today or it's whatever. Like there's always a reason why you could talk yourself out of taking that leap of quitting your nine to five job. Um, like what advice would you give a new business owner who's thinking about it or just launching?
Natalie Dion:Yeah. I would say so entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart. Yeah. That's that's number one. So my I guess my my thing is you need to make sure that that purpose is strong enough for you. Because when time gets hard and you're up against the wall, and you most people will not get up, most people will quit. You have to make sure that that why, that purpose is so strong that you do not give up, that you continue to walk up that mountain with all the weight on your shoulders. Because at the end of the day, and people, you know, I didn't fully understand this, but it is on our shoulders. You know, my employees that I employ, I am responsible for their income. I am responsible for their families in such a way. It's a really huge responsibility. They trust me, you know, and so I don't take that lightly. So I'm making, you know, pieces for families. And I'm if I can deliver on making sure that we're doing our craft to the best of our abilities and that we're staying true to what we do, you know, the hope is that the sales follow because we're being true, right? And then in that, I'm able to then meet my obligations as a business owner, that I'm responsible, you know, to my community, make sure I pay my taxes, to my to the you know, the people that work for me to make sure that they get their paycheck. It's you know, it's all connected. And so if your purpose is not strong, then you know, if you're just doing it for money, money comes and goes.
Intro/Close:Right.
Natalie Dion:So you gotta have that purpose. So that to me is like number one. So if you're gonna make the leap and you're just trying to get rich real quick, you know, I would caution you.
Doug Drohan:That's yeah, and I think like having your higher why isn't Important. Um, but I think you also need to remind yourself of it in those down times. Okay, you know, you have to take a step back and remember or remind yourself why I'm doing this. Um, because yeah, you have to always keep, I don't know if you have a vision board, some people believe in vision boards, but you know, always remembering why it is that you're doing it is gonna help you get through those tough times. And you know, Mike Tyson said everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. Um and a lot of people can't get back up, you know.
Natalie Dion:I like that.
Doug Drohan:But uh yeah, yeah.
Natalie Dion:We've been punched, you've just yeah, oh yeah, we all we all been knocked out. We've uh yeah, I'm I'm shocked sometimes that we've gotten back up. And here's another thing people don't realize. I work with my spouse, yeah, and you know, we have to balance it's a delicate dance between leaving work at work and having home at home, yeah. And being partners at work and a professional setting and what that looks like, and then being partners at home. And so, you know, there's a fine dance that you have to dance, but you know, when something happens in the business that hurts us, we are definitely hurting, right? Because it affects us in so such a magnitude. So, you know, I love working with my spouse. I would never change that. We're definitely different personalities. Um, we're both needed. I can be very optimistic and he can ground me and bring me back to earth sometimes.
Intro/Close:Don't be so optimistic.
Natalie Dion:Yeah, yeah, he can, but it's good, you know. Well, he you know has to remind me that sounds great, but how are we gonna do it? Right. So you need you need both sides, it's that yin-ing yang. Um but you know, I so that's another thing. Some people can do it. I actually know quite a few entrepreneurs that are husband and wife teams. I know architects like that, I know a builder like that. There's quite a few people that I know. Um but that also is a journey in its own, and not every that doesn't always work, right?
Doug Drohan:Right, right. Yeah, that is a different dynamic I I didn't think about. But yeah, that's I don't know if I could work with my spouse. So we are, but we are very different, so it could work in some ways. But um yeah, so that way this is great. So let's just go uh through your website, where do people find you? Um it's the carpentry shopco.com, right?
Natalie Dion:Yes.
Doug Drohan:Correct. What's the best way to reach? Should they call you, email you, follow you on Instagram, send you a DM?
Natalie Dion:All of that, all of that is great. So you can definitely call us. We have a contact us page. Um, we also have forms on paid on pages if you want to inquire about a specific project. Uh, you can reach out that way. You can email our info inbox. It's just info at thecarpentry shopco.com. Extremely long email, but it's the whole company name. Also, yeah, find us on Instagram, on TikTok. Um, I even look at messages on Pinterest sometimes. So, however, people want to reach out to us, they can reach us. You just it's our handle is at the Carpentry Shop Co. You can find us on you know any of the social platforms Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, YouTube. We have a YouTube page, which is great. We try to post videos of us um making things, try to show people how to do things.
Doug Drohan:So yeah, nice.
Natalie Dion:Lots of ways to find us.
Doug Drohan:All right, and you're at 190 Veterans Drive in North Vale, New Jersey. The phone number is 646-933-0736, Natalie Dion, the Carpentry Shop. Thank you very much for being my guest today. And uh, you know, we're gonna get all that information out about your event in a couple weeks, and you and I will be right back. Thank you.
Natalie Dion:Awesome.
Intro/Close:Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpbergen.com. That's gnpbergen.com or call 201 298 8325.