About Us
Our Story
Headquartered in Rockford Michigan, Floating Axe is a one-person shop owned and operated by Matt Mead who spent nearly two and a half decades in the furniture industry before leaving to start Floating Axe Woodworks in the Fall of 2022. We have a brand new 2,500 square foot woodshop that holds our vacuum kiln, our 5 foot by 12 foot CNC router, all of our woodworking equipment and our showroom. Also on the premises is our 12 foot by 65 foot pre-drying shed that holds lumber before it’s ready to go into the kiln as well as our overflow inventory. We have a portable sawmill capable of milling logs as large as 30 inches in diameter and up to 16 feet long as well as a chainsaw mill capable of milling logs up to 60 inches in diameter.
Our Mission
At Floating Axe Woodworks, our goal is to continue the story of the trees that come into our shop by milling each log into lumber in such a way as to preserve the unique character of the tree it comes from. That piece of wood then gets a new life and continues its story when it’s made into a beautiful piece of furniture. Whether you’re a furniture maker, or a hobby woodworker looking for premium furniture grade hardwoods, or someone who is looking for a piece of custom furniture designed and built uniquely for you, we have what you need.
His Story
We are a wood and wood furniture company that celebrates each piece of wood for its own uniqueness. Just like human beings, God has created each tree unique and just under the surface is a whole history of what has made that piece of wood into what it is today. Whether it’s a knot from a branch that fell off the trunk 50 years ago, a void inside the wood from an insect nest, a stain from a nail that held a sign long since removed, or just a super interesting grain figure where two branches came together, every piece of wood tells the story of it’s past.
We each have a story, and our past is what has made us who we are today. Our choices and our experiences, both good and bad, remain with us through the rest of our lives. We're grateful that we have a God who has redeemed our pasts and is using it to be a positive part of His Story.
Our Name
Floating Axe is a reference to a story in the Old Testament of the Bible found in II Kings 6 where the students of the prophet Elisha had outgrown the barracks where they were training and convinced Elisha to go with them to the Jordan River to cut down logs for use in the building of a new space to learn. One student, who had borrowed an axe for the felling of trees, was busy chopping down a tree near the shore of the river when the iron axe head fell of the handle and flew into the river sinking out of sight. The student, knowing there was no way he could ever repay the debt owed for losing a sold iron axe head, came to Elisha and, in his distress, told him what happened. Elisha then, through the power of God, cut a stick from a nearby tree, threw it into the water at the place where the axe head had gone into the river, and beyond all rational explanation the iron axe head floated to the surface where the grateful student was able to retrieve it.
This story is relevant to us at Floating Axe Woodworks for two reasons. The first is that, like the students of Elisha, we too are embarking on a new endeavor of building this wood business and, like them, we need to make the best use of good tools, good people, and a good God if we ever hope to be successful.
The second, and most importantly is that this truly is a story of redemption. The student who lost the axe head was now in a debt that he could never hope to pay back. There was no way he could rescue himself from this situation and needed someone else, namely God, to do the rescuing. We too, due to our selfish choices, owe a debt to the God of the universe that we cannot hope to ever pay back. However, because the God of the universe is above all else a loving God, he came to us and rescued us. Of his own power, through his Son Jesus Christ, he rescued us. Just like making an iron axe head float in water, God has done the impossible by rescuing broken human beings, making a way for them to have a personal relationship with him.
Whether you’re a Floating Axe Woodworks customer, a friend of the business, one of our suppliers, or just someone who randomly stumbled across this page, we would love to tell you more about this amazing God who loves you and wants to rescue you too. Please reach out and we would love to talk to you more.
