The Lakes
Lake AntlerWorks can custom design anything you want. If you have an idea, together we can create the perfectly unique piece for your home.
Who We Are
Joe Lake and his wife Laurel are the team behind Lake AntlerWorks. Joe’s background in welding and fabrication gives him knowledge and skill to construct sturdy pieces. He is creatively inventive in his work, combining form and function with art. They love being able to create beautiful pieces with natural materials from God’s creation.
Genesis of Lake AntlerWorks
As the old proverb goes “Necessity is the Mother of invention.” When Joe and Laurel moved to Minnesota, Joe was in need of a new desk. They also moved a giant stack of antlers from Wyoming to Minnesota that were a result of years of shed hunting. Laurel kindly mentioned that this antler stack was taking up an awful lot of valuable space in their new home. Joe took the hint, and knew she wanted him to sell the antlers. However, Joe also needed a new desk for his home office, so instead he decided to build a desk using a couple of live edge walnut slabs and some of his favorite elk antlers he had found. With that, Lake AntlerWorks was born.
Wood Slabs
Joe loves using live edge slabs for the tables he makes. He uses naturally shed antlers, so it feels right to use the beautiful would in a natural looking form. God is the best designer and Joe simply gets to combine His beautiful designs to create beautiful furniture. Native woods commonly used are walnut, oak, maple, ash, and pine. Exotic hardwoods are also used such as Indian rosewood, camphor, red eucalyptus, monkey pod, and others.
Shed Hunting
One of the Lake’s hobbies is going hiking in the spring and summer and searching for the naturally dropped antlers of elk, moose and deer. The earlier pieces created were all made from antlers Joe and Laurel had found themselves. Now, additional antlers are ethically sourced out of the Western states and are naturally shed every year by the elk, deer or moose.