WELCOME TO

Cooper's Pens and Things

Welcome to my shop!

Check out my Etsy listings and my blog page.

Let me know if there is a project I can help you with.

about us

Cooper's Pens and Things is a shop that creates wood crafts.

Our purpose is to create handcrafted heirloom quality pieces that can be passed on to generations. We specialize in items as small as pens, and as large as full size furniture. If you are interested in a special ‘one of a kind’ item, I may be able to create the perfect project for you. I have several past projects posted here on this site, and also in my store on Etsy.

My blog page has several posts for things I do in the shop. 

My shop currently has several projects going, among them are exotic chess boards and simple games that I sell at craft shows. 

Where we are

Located in the western Piedmont area of North Carolina, we have some of the best resources for materials found anywhere. The picture in the background is a view of the Smokey Mountains as seen from North Carolina.

What we use

I like to use the best of natural resources to create heirloom projects for your home. My work features games, puzzles, kitchen items, and decorative items, and occasionally a piece of furniture.

The beauty of wood

There is nothing more wonderful that a wood project with all natural colors of nature. I use no dyes or stains. Everything is natural color. There are some items that have paint in engravings, but the beauty of the wood still shows through.

The End of the day

At the end of the day, wouldn’t it be nice to sit down to a handcrafted game and enjoy some family fun time? 

Measure Twice, Cut Once.

Norm Abram

Bulk Work - Cedar Soap Trays

Cedar soap trays are always a hit from our shop. I’ve made thousands over the years. This photo set shows going from lumber to the final boxed product in a very few slides.

To give you an idea of how many soap trays are in a picture, they are in stacks of ten, rows of ten stacks, and as many as 600 per level before I go to another section. 

These are Eastern Red Cedar (Aromatic Cedar), I also have Western Red Cedar available and can make them in varying sizes based on your needs. Prices for soap trays varies with the market price of materials. 

Cookbook Stands How-To Video

A repeat customer has requested some cookbook stands, here is how I make those in a step by step video. There are no dimensions given as each one I make is custom sized. These are about 12 inches wide. 

Musical Cutting Board How-To Video

I make several cutting boards including some that music lovers like. This how-to is a video that walks through the steps of making this board and includes some CNC work with inlays. The video is about an hour long, but I feel worth the time if you’d like to see the whole process from beginning to end. I will post the files for the CNC elsewhere on the site in the future. 

My Chessboard How-To Video

I thought it would be nice to show a bit of how I make things, my blog page shows some of that in stages. This video is a continuous tutorial of how to make a chess board the same as the ones I sell on Etsy. The machining processes have the audio muted. The size of the board is up to you, I do not give dimensions for any particular board final dimension.

Our booth at Santa's Workshop

This is a picture of our 2023 booth at Santa’s Workshop in Cookeville Tenn. The Hyder -Burks Pavilion is the yearly site for this event hosted by the Cookeville Junior Women’s Club. 

Another view of the many things that we offer in our booth. There are games, puzzles, cutting boards, pens, scoops, and of course, a huge selection of pens. 

We added tailor’s clappers, engraved cutting boards, and much more.

 This is another view of our booth, we had a large selection of cutting boards, chess boards and sets, as well as many other games available. Our games list includes Shut the Box, Scrabble, The Royal Game of Ur, Backgammon, and Cribbage. We plan on added games for 2024.

2023 Santa's Workshop Craft Show

The Cookeville Junior Women’s Club Santa’s Workshop for 2023 is scheduled for November 17-19, 2023 at the Hyder-Burks Pavilion. Our 2022 event was a huge success and it was wonderful seeing lots of our friends again. Plan now to come by our booth, there will be lots of new items there as we plan on adding things to our shop.