A 10-year-old Maryland furniture company that owns its entire chain — from the log to the living room. This is the plan to acquire our building, open a school, and double our capacity to build.
Makers Woodshop · Baltimore, MD · 2026
01 / THE INVITATION
The one-line version
Mass-produced furniture fills a room. Ours becomes the reason people remember it — and we make it from the trees that fall in our own backyard.
— The Makers Woodshop thesis
Eleven years in, Makers Woodshop already makes money five different ways — and the next chapter is the biggest yet: owning the building, opening a school, and doubling the shop. Below is the full picture of where this is going.
02 / THE OPPORTUNITY
Why this, why now
The market is moving toward everything we already are
People are done with disposable. The shift toward heirloom, hand-made, and "buy it once" furniture is real and accelerating — especially at the premium end.
Live-edge & epoxy went mainstream. What was niche a decade ago is now the most requested statement piece in homes, offices, restaurants, and bars.
Local & sustainable sells. "Made in Maryland from fallen, reclaimed urban lumber" is a story competitors importing wood simply cannot tell.
Experiences are the new product. Hands-on classes, date nights, and corporate workshops are a booming category — and a brand engine.
The gap
Almost no one is vertically integrated
Most furniture makers buy finished lumber and assemble. Most sawmills sell raw wood and stop. Makers Woodshop does the whole chain — sourcing fallen Maryland trees, milling, kiln-drying, building, finishing, selling retail, and teaching the craft. That control is rare, and it is where the margin and the moat live.
03 / THE COMPANY
Tree to table, under one roof
One company. Five ways it makes money.
Eleven years in, Makers Woodshop is not a one-product shop — it is a vertically integrated maker with five reinforcing revenue lines, each feeding the next.
River tables and resin pieces — the highest-margin, most-requested, most shareable work we make.
03 · Slabs & lumber
The supply engine
We mill and kiln-dry our own. Surplus slabs & dimensional lumber sell to makers and shops — and they sell fast.
04 · The classes
The flywheel
Public & corporate workshops in woodworking and epoxy — recurring revenue, brand reach, and a talent pipeline.
05 · Equipment & rentals
The asset sweat
Sawmill time and slab access rented out — turning idle capacity into cash.
The point
Each line de-risks the others
Slow season for custom tables? Classes and lumber carry it. The diversification is the durability.
04 / TRACTION
This is not a startup
Eleven years of proof, already in the ground
Est. 2015
Operating
A decade-plus of real customers, not a concept.
5
Revenue lines
Live & generating today.
2
Locations
Windsor Mill shop + Catonsville showroom.
100%
MD hardwood
Owned milling & kiln capacity.
Commercial & hospitality wins
Restaurants & bars already choose us
Bar tops and tables in real venues across the DMV — the kind of repeatable, high-ticket B2B work that proves the product holds up in commercial use, not just living rooms.
Brand & demand
An audience that watches us build
An engaged social following documents the work weekly, classes sell out their seats, and slabs move within days of posting — demand is already outrunning capacity. That is exactly the constraint this raise removes.
05 / THE MODEL
Where the margin comes from
We own the cost line everyone else pays retail for
Because we source fallen Maryland trees and mill them ourselves, our raw material cost is a fraction of a competitor who buys finished hardwood. That gap shows up in every piece we sell.
Revenue line
How it earns
Illustrative gross margin*
Custom & epoxy furniture
Bespoke build, premium price, self-milled wood
55–70%
Slabs & dimensional lumber
Mill & dry low-cost fallen logs, sell ready stock
45–60%
Workshops & classes
~10 seats × per-seat fee, low material cost
60–75%
Equipment & slab rentals
Monetize idle sawmill & inventory capacity
70%+
The structural advantage
Vertical integration = control of cost, quality & supply
Margin others can't match
*Illustrative target ranges to be confirmed against Makers Woodshop's actual books before circulation. Used here to show the shape of the model, not audited figures.
06 / THE MOAT
Why this is hard to copy
The advantages compound
Supply control
Free-to-cheap raw material
Fallen, reclaimed urban lumber others pay top dollar for — we get at the source and mill ourselves.
Brand & story
15 years & a name
Reputation, reviews, and a "Made in Maryland" story that imported furniture can never tell.
The flywheel
Classes feed everything
Students become customers, fans, and future hires. Education compounds brand, demand, and talent at once.
Capability
True craft is scarce
Master finishing and epoxy skill takes years. We have it in-house — and now we can teach it.
Diversification
Five lines, one engine
No single customer or product can sink the quarter.
Real assets
It's backed by things
Building, machines, kilns, and inventory — tangible collateral, not slideware.
07 / THE TEAM
The right people, the right seats
An Accountability Chart — and a founder already being de-risked
We mapped every function in the business to a single owner. Ten people on the bus, each holding a clear seat — and a deliberate plan to hire the founder out of the four seats he still fills.
Visionary
Jason Dawson
Founder & CEO
Integrator
Yoni
COO
Sales & Design
James
Sales lead
Social & Marketing
Mythe Dawson
w/ Jason
Web & SEO
Ian Dawson
Web & search
Lumber & Yard
Johnathan
Sawmill & kilns
Production
Mccabe
Shop manager
Lead Finisher
Travis
Master finisher
Shop Tech
Will
Finisher
Bookkeeping
Kaelyn Swan
AR / AP
The investor's favorite line
This business is not trapped inside one person
The companion Accountability Chart shows exactly which seats the founder holds today and the trigger to hire into each. A documented succession plan is the single biggest thing that turns a founder-run shop into a fundable company.
08 / THE VISION
Dream bigger than the shop
We are not building a furniture company. We are building the maker movement of the Mid-Atlantic.
The core that everything below ladders up to:
Core Purpose
Turn the trees that fall around us into the pieces life happens around — and teach the next generation to do the same.
The 10-Year Target
The defining maker brand of the Mid-Atlantic — a vertically integrated furniture, lumber & education company that has trained 1,000+ makers.
01
Built to outlast us
Heirloom quality, every time.
02
Nothing wasted
Reclaimed Maryland wood, honored.
03
Be the focal point
Obsessed with the craft.
04
Teach what we know
Generosity as a growth engine.
05
Make the moment
The experience is the product.
09 / THE EXPANSION
What the next chapter builds
Three buildings. One compounding machine.
Own it, don't rent it
The Showroom
Acquire 630 Frederick Rd
Convert rent into equity. The showroom becomes an owned, appreciating asset — and the collateral that secures this investment. Stop paying a landlord; start building a balance sheet.
The flywheel, housed
The Makers Academy
The showroom's other half → a classroom
A permanent school for woodworking & epoxy. Public classes, date nights, corporate team-building, multi-week courses. Recurring revenue, a brand stage, and the pipeline that staffs the shop for the next decade.
Double the capacity
The 70 × 40 Facility
New manufacturing & development
2,800 sq ft of dedicated production and R&D — the constraint-breaker. More benches, more output, new product lines, and room to build the bigger commercial jobs we already get asked for.
Demand is already outrunning capacity. This raise removes the ceiling.
10 / GROWTH PRIORITIES
Where the focus goes
The next chapter, by priority
Acquire the showroomTurn rent into an owned, appreciating asset01
Open the Makers AcademyClassroom, benches, tooling, AV03
Add production capacityMill / kiln / finishing equipment04
Stock lumber & slabsBulk log buys ahead of demand05
Hire & runway2nd skilled finisher + working capital06
Relative focus, in priority order. Exact scope, sequencing, and any capital need to be defined together as the plan firms up.
11 / THE GROWTH MODEL
What capacity unlocks
The capacity removes the ceiling on every line
Today the shop turns away work it doesn't have the bench space or staff to build. With the facility, the Academy, and inventory funded, every revenue line steps up — led by the Academy, the fastest-compounding line.
Directional growth story — the relative scale of each revenue line over time, not specific figures. Shown to illustrate the mix shift as the Academy and new capacity come online.
12 / PARTNERSHIP
Structured around protection first
The same kind of bet that's worked before — now backed by a building
Two ways to partner, both built around protection of principal first. The lead structure mirrors the secured lending that has worked between this investor and Jason before — only now there's a hard, appreciating asset behind it.
Path A · Recommended
Secured lending
The structure that has worked before, repeated
Backed by the showroom real estate + equipment
Returns & term defined together, on a fixed schedule
Collateral coverage ahead of the principal — protection first
Optional kicker: right of first refusal on the next round
Path B · Upside
Lending + equity
A reduced fixed return in exchange for a minority equity stake
Participate in the long-term value of the brand, the Academy, and the real estate
For a partner who wants to own a piece of the movement, not just lend to it
Board-observer / advisory seat available
Conceptual structures for discussion only — not an offer of securities and not investment advice. Specific amounts, returns, term, and collateral to be defined together with legal and tax counsel.
13 / WHY NOW
The window
Everything lines up at once
Track record
Repaid, profitably
You've lent to Jason before and always made money.
Secured
Hard asset behind it
A building as collateral, not a promise.
Building up
70×40 underway
The expansion is already in motion.
Demand > capacity
Turning away work
The growth is waiting on the build, not the market.
14 / RISK & MITIGATION
The honest slide
We'll name the risks before you do
Risk a Shark would raise
How it's already handled
Founder dependence
A clear Accountability Chart + documented plan to hire the founder out of his seats
Revenue concentration
Five diversified lines — no single product or client carries the company
Execution on the build
Experienced team in seats; expansion already underway, not theoretical
Downturn in furniture
Classes, lumber sales & rentals are counter-cyclical revenue
Investor principal
Secured by real estate & equipment with collateral coverage above the loan
The invitation
Help us own the building, open the school, and double the shop.
Backed by a proven operator with a track record of returns — a business already making money five ways, about to make it six.
Jason Dawson · Founder & CEOMakers Woodshop(240) 720-3317makerswoodshop.com
This document is confidential and prepared for discussion purposes only. It is not an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy any security, and it is not investment, legal, tax, or financial advice. Any margins, priorities, growth illustrations, and partnership structures shown are directional and forward-looking, are not guarantees of future results, and must be validated against Makers Woodshop's actual records and finalized with qualified counsel before any commitment.
Accountability ChartRoles & responsibilities
Makers Woodshop · Est. 2015 · Baltimore, MD
The right people in the right seats
Every function the company must perform, the single owner accountable for it, and a deliberate plan to hire the founder out of the seats he holds today. One business, built one slab at a time — and structured to scale beyond any one person.
11 yrs
Operating · Est. 2015
5
Revenue lines
10
People on the bus
100%
Maryland hardwood
2
Locations · Shop + Showroom
The Accountability Chart
Anchored — right person, right seat Founder-held — Jason filling, hire planned Open seat — to hire
Visionary
Jason Dawson
Founder & CEO
Vision, brand & big ideas
Product R&D — live-edge & epoxy lines
Largest accounts & key relationships
Business development & new revenue
Company culture
Also sits in 3 of the seats below — two with a hire planned
Integrator
Yoni
Chief Operating Officer
Runs the day-to-day
Leads, manages & holds the team accountable
Owns the P&L & weekly numbers
Removes obstacles, drives execution
Harmonizes the three functions
Sales & Marketing
Sales & DesignAnchored
James
Sales & Design Lead
Residential, commercial & hospitality sales
Custom design with clients
Catonsville showroom & retail
Quotes & client experience
Showroom events
Social Media & MarketingAnchored
Mythe Dawson
Social & Marketing Owner
Co-seat with Jason Dawson
Social content & channels
Email & newsletter
Brand, print & campaigns
Promotions & lead generation
Web Architecture & SEOAnchored
Ian Dawson
Web & Search Lead
Website architecture & UX
Technical & local SEO
Search content & landing pages
Analytics & conversion tracking
Workshops & ClassesFuture hire
Jason Dawson
Founder — filling for now
Seat to fill → Education Lead
Public woodworking & epoxy classes
Scheduling & hosting
Community & date-night experiences
Workshop revenue line
Operationsheld by Yoni / Integrator
Lumber & Sawmill YardAnchored
Johnathan
Yard & Lumber Lead
Log purchasing — fallen MD hardwood
Sawmill & kiln-drying
Dimensional lumber & slab sales
Equipment & slab rentals
Yard, machines & delivery
Production / ShopAnchored
Mccabe
Shop Manager
Shop schedule & build flow
Shop purchasing, tools & warranty
Quality control
Leads the finishing team
Transition: step off the tools as the shop scales
Lead FinisherAnchored
Travis
Master Finisher
Finishing, sanding & oils
Epoxy pours & polishing
Highest-craft pieces
Tools, dust collection & shop care
Shop TechDeveloping
Will
Finisher in training
Finishing support & prep
Sanding & cleanup
Growing under Travis
Finance & Admin
Bookkeeping / AR · APAnchored
Kaelyn Swan
Bookkeeper
Invoicing & collections
Accounts payable
Balances the books
P&L reporting
Finance & PeopleFuture hire
Jason Dawson
Founder — filling for now
Seat to fill → Controller / Ops Mgr
Budgets & cash-flow forecasting
Insurance & compliance
Payroll & HR / hiring
KPI scorecard
Optional nextOpen
2nd Skilled Finisher
As production scales
Removes the single-finisher bottleneck
Absorbs volume from Travis
The Founder Hand-off Plan
De-risking the founder
Jason currently anchors five seats. Four are deliberate placeholders with a clear succession path; one is his permanent seat. The plan below is what turns a founder-dependent shop into a scalable company.
Role Jason holds today
Transitions to
Trigger to hire
Social media & marketing
Shared with Mythe Dawson
Now co-owned — shift the load off the founder over time
