I’m the maker, designer, and one-woman operation behind Michele Peterson Designs, a woman owned small business based in Oregon.

Woodworking has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I grew up in the Portland area watching and helping my dad work with wood in his garage. When he passed away in 2013, I inherited some of his tools and a few years later, those tools helped start a completely new chapter for me.

My husband and I have been together since high school and spent 26 years as a Navy family, living everywhere from San Diego and Virginia Beach to Guam, Florida, and Maryland before eventually making our way back home to Oregon.

What started as a hobby with a miter saw, reclaimed fence boards, and a garage full of ideas slowly grew into a business. I began making rustic pumpkins, Christmas decor, and farmhouse signs for our own home. Before long, neighbors were asking me to make pieces for them too.

In 2017, I left my career in web and graphic design to pursue woodworking full time. Since then, my work has grown from reclaimed wood decor into hardwoods, epoxy, mosaics, laser-cut designs, and my interchangeable seasonal decor collections.

Today, everything is designed and made by me in my home garage workshop. I handle the designing, building, finishing, photography, packing, and everything in between. My husband, now retired from the Navy occasionally gets recruited for lumber runs, shop maintenance, and the jobs that require an extra set of hands.

I’m proud to create American-made, handcrafted decor in a small, female-run business where every piece is made with care.

When I’m not in the shop, you’ll usually find me spending time with my husband and our dog Gary, playing Mahjong, or enjoying an Oregon summer on a kayak or paddleboard.

Thank you for supporting handmade and for allowing me to keep doing what I love.