My wife always says I am good at making a big deal out of nothing… and now she has some tangible proof.

I opened the doors to my own shop on January 1st, 2024. In the years preceding I had been working at a local shop, but I was laid off as the previous year came to close. I decided it was my chance to build the business I always dreamed of.

Interestingly, social media was not part of the plan, until I realized people probably wanted to see what I could make. Afraid of web design and realizing binders of photos aren’t sufficient in the digital age, I turned to Instagram as a showcase of my work… To all 86 of my followers.

It didn’t bother me much, until I had a client comment that she had more followers than me. And that simply wouldn’t do! A wet towel like her outdoing me in pointless metrics!? So The Block Challenge was born! Each day I would cut a 1 inch block for each new follower gained in the past 24 hours. For about a week.

I started fully expecting the series to net me anywhere from 20-80 followers over the course of a week, I was not prepared for the 150 days of mindless destruction of nature’s precious resources for internet clout that I became entrenched in. Or the 30,000+ people who found it entertaining.

Now if you’re here, it either because you found my site looking for real woodworking or because you participated in this monumental waste of my time, and I have something to say to each of you:

To the former- I promise I’m a pretty normal guy (albeit with a lot more tiny blocks than the average male) whose capabilities extend well beyond that of cutting 1” cubes on a daily basis. And I would be grateful and overjoyed to exercise those capabilities for you.

To the latter- Thank you for being part of this journey. And for caring so much to even read this far. Jokes aside this has been a great time, building a community, making so many interesting friends, finding my voice, and sharing this project with you. I deeply appreciate you, and your willingness to come along For the ride. Jokes included, I’m broke after sourcing approximately 2000 board feet of lumber so you should buy a shirt.