How we got starteD

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 Our woodworking company was born in the spring of 2020, right when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.  Within 6 weeks, we both caught COVID-19 and then lost our jobs.  After having a freak-out moment, we decided to stand up rather than lay down and let life stamp us out. We made the decision that if we were going down, we were going down with a fight! At first Tom just started hustling wood out of our garage just to make ends meet while Heather recovered (a long two  months), focusing on a few reclaimed cypress boards and making a couple of tables and a firepit based on designs we had created in our home and backyard bar, hoping that others would like our stuff as much as we do.  Tom then took our savings and stimulus money and bought more wood. And more wood.  

Very quickly he took over the entire living room, hallway, dining room with wood, epoxy projects and salvaged metal.  Before long, we had up to 10-12 customers a day pulling into our driveway looking for wood and cool things to buy.  All during a Pandemic!

By July Heather started getting REALLY cranky about having the house taken over by wood, dust, creepy crawlies, rusty junk, and total strangers that Tom would randomly invite into the house and backyard to show off things he made.  After finding three ticks on herself that to this day is convinced came from the wood in the house. plus saying no way to the tent Tom was going to put up in the backyard to sleep in since wood was blocking the hallway to our bedroom,  we  we had to get a real shop. We had no idea what we were doing, but knew we had to do something or face bankruptcy. 

One thing we realized was the finding the right wood, tools, supplies and hardware was not easy when making home furnishings. Nothing was easy, and for one simple project we had to go to 5 different places and even then couldn't get the items we needed.  We wasted so much time running around trying to find mills 2 and 4 hours away,  then not being able to look at individual slabs was so frustrating.  We also found that there was no consistencies in questions we had regarding wood types, sanding, epoxy use, kiln-drying, etc.  Several places we purchased wood from that assured us it was kiln-dried properly was in fact completely wrong. After about the 10th time crawl around in barns and step over racoon poop looking for rusty treasure and dealing with cranky mill owners who will only take cash, and not being able to easily get the epoxy and wood oil needed to finish projects, we decided to reinvent the wood buying and making business by creating a one-stop shop that looks good, smells good, and is fun to visit :)  

By August, we realized it was time to put up or shut up, so we cashed out our savings and retirement accounts and went for it!  After six long weeks working 15 hour days of not only working on custom projects and selling wood but at the same time getting the store up and running we finally did it! We officially opened our doors on November 14, 2020, and moved into the official TDeez Badass Creations Shop (and Heather got her house back).  Our goal was to make the shop inspiring, uplifting, and full of hope and creativity -- something we all need in this crazy time.   We hope after visiting our store you agree. 

Our vision of just buying/selling wood slabs has now evolved into also carrying woodworking supplies such as Osmo Oil, Odies Oil, Walrus Oil, General Finishes, Wisebond Epoxy, Eye Candy Pigments,  and Starbond Products - now when you purchase your wood you have at your fingertips everyting needed for your particular project, plus reliable people to ask questions.  We also have table bases, handles, metal gears, and other cool things we find that we think customers can incorporate into their projects - some of it is salvaged or gently used but can be restored/repurposed into something that's cool.  Making something cool and want to sell it?  We  support customers looking to sell items they make,  particularly when using wood and supplies purchased from our shop. Stop in and talk to us about selling some of your creations in our shop. 

Why TDeez Badass Creations? Because we believe if you are going to do something, be creative and make it Badass.

 A "badass" doesn't always equate to being tough and intimidating. For TDeez Badass Creations, being a "badass" is a way of being. One must be bold, always looking forward and never backwards, and shamelessly confident. TDeez embodies all of those things, even when COVID-19 took our jobs.  We encourage our woodworking and maker community to channel the same confidence and spirit, no matter what! 

Copper is our shop dog, Walmart Greeter, and overall joy to both staff and customers alike! 

We make and sell wood and ready-made items that we would have in our home - not something just thrown together to try to make a buck. We travel throughout the Mid-Atlantic region looking for the most unique slabs of wood, salvaged metal and other found objects that can be repurposed into projects and make sure all our wood is professionally kiln-dried and surfaced ready for the first-time DIY person to take home and finish. Or, as your Project Partner we take the time to listen and bring to life your dream project based on the wood, hardware, table legs, epoxy color and style you want. It's all about YOU!

We don't make promises we can't keep. We provide estimates that 99% of the time don't need revised. We are transparent -- if we determine something needs changed or won't work like we thought, we tell you and together come up with a new plan. We are down to earth and tell it like it is. We don't apologize for wanting to make money, but do what we can to keep prices realistic and affordable (unless it's something that Tom doesn't want to sell lol). What you see in our videos we post is what we are like day to day - two farm kids from Indiana who gave the finger to corporate America and decided to take destiny in their own hands and create beautiful heirloom pieces that are one-of-a-kind. 

We met at age 14 in front of Mrs. Spicer's English class in the hallway of 8th grade - Tom immediately fell in love until he learned Heather was the girlfriend of his best friend Rob and the bro code was put into effect. Fast forward 27 years and their paths crossed again, only this time there was no boyfriend - Tom made his move (several times) and persistence paid off and were married in 2016.   In 2017 Heather received her dream job offer in the Baltimore area and after Tom's company agreed to relocate him to their Newark DE office, they settled just outside of Perryman, MD as close to the Chesapeake Bay as they could get, with Heather's cat Tod and their sweet pup Copper who is the best shop dog ever!