We’re excited to announce that grove will be participating in the MacForce Summer Blast this Saturday! There are some great vendors including: Apple, Wacom, and Lacie. If you happen to be in inner SE Portland this Saturday, stop by to say hi! We’ll be giving away several bamboo iphone 4 cases throughout the day. We’ll also have the full iphone 4 case artist series on display.

The best part…FREE ROCKET POPS!!! Hope to see you there!
- Joe

We just launched our new company Grove. Grove is a partnership between myself and Ken Tomita of Tomita Designs. Our first product is a laser engraved bamboo iphone case. The cases are highly customizable, with 7 different aluminum bezel colors and 3 bamboo options. We’re curating an artist series and also offer custom laser engraved cases.



After months of top secret R&D, we’ve perfected our bamboo iphone cases - and we’d like to celebrate with you. The Grove launch party will go down during the open studio night at Towne Storage on May 1st 6pm-10pm. We’ll be giving a bamboo iphone case away every hour and the winners can choose artwork to be laser engraved on the spot. There will be new laser engraved artwork on display by Jolby & Friends and we’ll be pouring Vortex IPA from Fort George Brewery. If you’re in Portland on the 1st, stop by with a glass and friends.

I recently had the privilege to collaborate with Im:mortal, a new Portland accessory design studio. Their first collection, “Future Primitive”, is inspired by the poetry of the earth. “Each piece we create is a token of our appreciation for the natural world around us. We draw from nature, from the places that are sacred to us. Inspired by old-world techniques, we craft artifacts that unite form with function to serve the modern-day sage.”



Above is the “canyon pouch”. A Laser-cut Ultrasuede circle pouch with leather feather cinch closure. Includes clear quartz crystal points inside pouch.
Below is the “desert bag”. It features laser-cut leather details and engraved bamboo pulls.



If you happen to be in New York this weekend, check them out at the New York Market/ Launch Pad Showroom. I’m excited to work with Im:mortal in the future!

For the past 5 months I have been busy starting up a new business with my friend Ken Tomita. He runs a custom commission furniture company called Tomita Designs which specializes in sustainable bamboo furniture.



Our new collaboration, grove, will focus on environmentally friendly laser customizable products made of bamboo. We are using FSC certified bamboo and making all of our products in Portland, Oregon. Finishes are all natural and packaging design will focus on reuse and recycling.

Here is a sneak peak of our first product:



We will be launching in a couple weeks, stay tuned.

Engrave recently had our warehouse-wide open house night. It was a huge success; with over 1500 visitors through the building. We unveiled some new art pieces by Jacob Escobedo, Alisha Wessler, Michael Hsiung, and Dan Strong. Also on display, were a few pieces from Project Chaboo. Thanks to all who could make it, I look forward to our next open house!

Check out some photos from the evening:

I recently laser cut a few large format art pieces for local Portland artist, Stef Choi. The characters were cut from 1/2″ thick MDF ultralight and then shaped and painted by Stef. They are part of a group show hosted by Gallery Nucleus called “sweet streets”, which is a collection of art inspired by Japanese street fashion.

Her pieces are on display at Gallery Nucleus until September 14th. Check out the video below of the pieces being laser-cut by my large format Trotec speedy 500.

My new 120 Watt Trotec Speedy 500 laser engraver recently arrived from Austria. The machine can engrave intricate details on surfaces as large as 49″x28″, while also laser cutting 1/2″ thick wood cleanly. A Trotec laser guru was flown out for two intense days of one-on-one training. This machine is truly amazing, leaps and bounds beyond any offering from Epilog or Universal Laser.

scroll to see the view from my new shop…

For those of you in the Portland area, please feel free to visit my new laser studio in the Towne Storage building. It was a challenge getting my new Trotec Speedy 500 through the door of my new space; Vic and Kelly from NW Tech handled the 1200LB laser like a sleeping baby was inside.

The machine is calibrated and I’m excited to collaborate on large format art pieces, architectural models, and other custom projects.

I’d like to welcome local Portland artist Ryan Bubnis to the Engrave Your Book leather Moleskine cover collection. The cover pictured above is laser engraved onto a vegetable tanned leather cover and is now available here. Ryan has an opening reception at Nemo in Portland this Friday.

Featured Artist- Ryan Bubnis from Nemo Design on Vimeo.

In the above video which was produced by Nemo, Ryan discusses his artwork and what you can expect at the upcoming show this friday. I’m excited to collaborate with Ryan on future projects!