By Anne Groebner

When I walked into Pinetop Woodworks and Jessy Jayne’s Handcrafts, a new shop in town, I was greeted by a young and very friendly golden lab named Jessy (the namesake of the quilt shop). She was so happy to see me and I was happy to see her too! After a couple of years of working tirelessly on their new building, Steve and Marie (and Jessy) are finally ready to open their doors and welcome customers looking for unique wood creations and creative, custom quilts. But that’s not all you’ll find inside. Several local artists display their works and there’s a friendly and welcoming atmosphere.

It was Covid’s fault that Steve decided he wanted to do woodworking. He had done some work with wood his whole life — with his dad and then woodworking class in high school — but about five years ago; he was looking to set up shop so he could immerse himself in it a lot more, maybe even as a retirement project. So instead of baking bread, as so many of us did during the pandemic, he chose to work with wood.

Marie, on the other hand, stumbled upon quilting quite by accident. While living in Eagar, in their refurbished, 100-year-old “Udall” house, she went to see a dentist in St. Johns, who came highly recommended. Leaving the dentist’s office, she walked over to a fabric store and watched some women cutting cloth into small squares and then sewing them together to “make things.” “What are you doing?” She asked. “Making quilts,” they told her. “This is a quilting class.” Fortunately, Marie told me, she could sew a straight line and before she knew it, she was quilting. Now she creates beautiful quilts. Her favorite styles are half-square triangle and chevron quilts. Marie’s quilt studio is any quilter’s dream, complete with plenty of room and storage (all built by Steve) and a high-tech long-arm quilting machine. It’s fun to stop in and see her newest creations!

The new store has several wood pieces showcasing Steve’s work. He uses local wood — sustainably harvested fire trees — which are readily available here, creating amazing tables, bar tops and benches from wood with character flaws, which he likes the best. Bowls, pepper grinders, bottle stoppers and wooden rings, he turns on a lathe and he only uses natural wood finishes, such as tung oil, linseed oil or walnut oil. “Many people use mineral oil,” he tells me, “however, mineral oil doesn’t harden, is petroleum based and can leach into food.” (Something I just learned after I coated my cutting board at home with mineral oil). His natural oils harden, and both his oils and waxes are non-petroleum based and non-toxic.

There are so many unique items in their shop, that I couldn’t fit all the pictures of them in this article. They have over 15 local artists displaying items including Navajo jewelry, Arizona sandstone, embroidered towels, metal horseshoe art, panel quilts, place mats, runners, pillows, wood carvings, wood spirits, Riddling wine bottle racks and much more. You’ll just have to stop by and check it out for yourself! — and you can, by stopping by during their Ribbon Cutting, May 23 at 11:00 a.m. Their Grand Opening also starts on that Friday and runs through Sunday, May 25. They will have live music by KARAMAX, MoonDog’s Food Truck and much more! See their ad on page 19 for more information.