Quality Counts!

On any given day, I have over 300 individually, hand-crafted paddles in inventory. Here on Etsy you'll be able to purchase the paddles that are shown, and also get an Idea of the stunning Exotic woods that I work with. Each paddle is hand shaped, hand cut, and completely finished by me, Miss Rose. With over 10 years of Exotic Hardwood Paddle-making. I feel that our products stand far above any others.

Quality counts... is something that I heard a lot from my dad as I was growing up.
When I was a kid, there is always something else that I would rather be doing, and doing a “quality” job at some chore was never it. I admit to skimping…to sweeping the dirt under the rug, to hiding the evidence of my lack of interest, and for thinking my dad was an old fart for insisting on quality work when I helped him in the shop.

Now, I am supremely grateful to my dad for insisting on that high level of quality when I was helping him make furniture, clocks, lamps and all the beautiful things we made together in his “spare” time. That attention to detail and love of quality workmanship was a lesson well-learned and has become second-nature to me over the years-I don’t even have to think about it. It has been driven home for me in my paddle-making business

Quality Counts…It would never enter my mind to skimp…to do a poor job…or a quick-and-dirty job of making a single one of my paddles. I don’t buy boards sight-unseen. I hand-pick every piece of wood that comes into my home, and have a small number of trusted people who pick the ones that I cannot see myself. I sand every board 4 times and look over the wood with a magnifier before I even think about laying out a single paddle. I agonize over placing every pattern to make the most of the beauty of the wood and not to just to get the greatest number of paddles from a board. I use good professional tools, because the precision of the cut and the shape come from precision hardware. I don’t take short-cuts in the finishing process-like spraying on a toxic acrylic finish to hide lazy workmanship, poor sanding or planner scars..THOSE flaws NEVER exist on one of my paddles. I use an expensive, natural, food-grade oil to seal and enhance the beauty of the wood, not a synthetic sealant. Lastly, I put my personal brand (my hallmark, if you will) on every piece that leaves my shop, because I am proud of the art and craftsmanship that goes into every Compassrose Creation paddle.

I wish I could tell my dad that, while he might have despaired of me learning the lesson, I really, really did…Quality DOES Count and it sets my paddles above any other