We had the good fortune of connecting with John / Kekoa Recio / Schlesinger and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi John / Kekoa, how do you define success?
I feel like success is defined differently for everyone. Hard work ethic, personal goals and a thirst to always be better should be ingredients to any successful person or business. For me, my success has many levels. Getting out of negative inner city life was a form of success. Finding a career that brings me personal enjoyment. Sustaining a family in a beautiful part of Colorado. Even though our monetary success could always be greater, it’s the other, more important things in life that I gauge my success on. Do you love who you are, do you give your love to the people that love you.

What should our readers know about your business?
Roaring Fork Wood Co. is a custom cabinet and furniture shop in the Aspen, Colorado area. I have been serving the Roaring Fork Valley in the cabinetry business for almost 20 years. Now, my partner Kekoa Schlesinger and I have teamed up to balance the task design and fabrication. I believe what set’s us apart from the others is our client services. Other cabinet shops are so impersonal and out of touch with what the design team and builder is trying to create. We feel what we offer is a greater expertise and personal attention to how the job is moving through the details. We prefer to move through jobs as a team member of all the other sub-contractors. We are all working towards the same goal. Now, we’ve been into creating beautiful slab furniture using wood slabs and colored epoxy. This has been the work that excites us the most. It’s unique look and natural features allow clients to appreciate the trees that go into making these beautiful pieces. To me, these trees have been around forever helping to build societies through skillful harvesting and craftsmanship. Whether a home for one family or a stick framed building providing a home for many, trees are a staple in the lives of human beings. These slab and epoxy pieces to me demand the attention of those viewing them saying, ” Look at my beauty, appreciate it !” Sounds super corny, I know, but ask any woodworker what he’s thinking when they’re viewing some cool trim work or an amazing old piece of furniture. You’re going to get some funny lesson on something you have never thought of in you entire life. I think all craftsman are a bit corny in one way or another.
I suppose if there is something I want everybody to know about our brand and story, it would be ‘Love’. Love for this craft, love for trees and wood grains, love for our families and the families we help to support. When you buy a slab piece or some cabinetry from Roaring Fork Wood Co, there is lot’s of love that’s gone into it. We want you to love it too. We want the world to always appreciate that there are people out there that create. Create what they love! Never stop supporting those people. Especially if they’ve turned their creating into a business. Remember that everyone making a living off of their creating, is living their dream. Support them !!!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
By the grace of God, do all good things happen! In the career I’ve been privileged to pursue, there have been a couple people that have inspired me to continue down the road of becoming a woodworker. The first would be my old boss Michael McGuire. Owner of the very first wood shop I ever worked in, Rocky Mountain Woodworking. The next I would have to say is a great guy, mentor and fellow craftsman, Gil Krische. Gil was an older gentleman I had the privilege of working next to for many years. The skills and techniques I was able to soak in by his side are why I would have attempted to start a woodworking business.

Website: roaringforkwood.com

Instagram: Roaringforkwoodco

Facebook: Roaring Fork Wood Co.

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