Welcome to our wood and blacksmith shop, located at Marblemount in the Skagit Valley of Washington State. Here we devote our time to special custom-designed and hand-built items for those of you who love the natural beauty of wood, the glow of polished hand-wrought metal, and the combination of these elements together.

I am John Janda and I started the dream many, many years ago as a boy. Dreaming of pirate plunder, I used to draw pictures of pirates' chests, imagining these trunks filled with gold and silver. I was in the fourth grade, and I have never forgotten these visions over the ensuing years.

Later when I was married I made my first chest, which is similar to the ones seen on this website, but one-half the size. I gave my new mother-in-law the first chest as a Christmas gift, then made another the following year as a gift for my father. The third small chest I built and sold. Raising a family and working as a general building contractor demanded more of my time, and the chest-building was left behind.

Now the kids are grown and I have a wonderful workshop where I have built furnishings and cabinets for many of the custom-homes I have built over the years.. This proves to be a perfect place to more fully realize the pirate chest dream of my youth, applying the skills I have learned and used over the years.