Rising Stars: Meet Jacob Matz

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jacob Matz. 

Hi Jacob, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hello, my name is Jacob Matz and my beautiful wife is Jodi. Together we formed our family-owned and operated business Wicked Grain in 2012. We are pure Kansans and we love to support our “local” farmers, mills, and metal vendors. We use the wood/metal/glass/etc. that we purchase from them in ALL of our pieces! Before we started this, I was an FT SPED and HS Art teacher for 12 years, but I have always had a passion for the arts and building things. My wife is a health/wellness coach for Blue Cross but is very creative and artistic herself. All of this started as a hobby because we were tired of spending lots of money on cheap overseas bought furniture/art/etc….. we wanted our pieces to be 100% authentic and made here in the heart of the Midwest! Our furniture items are made to last! We pride ourselves in making amazing, one-of-a-kind, hand-crafted pieces of furniture from live edge slabs, hardwoods, authentic barn-wood, and reclaimed wood. We love making custom pieces that are functional, affordable, and super cool!! We can do a wide range of styles and types of furniture pieces, but all of our items have a rustic or natural feel to them. We love using organic shaped slabs, pieces of wood with cool grains/knots/character marks, and wood that has a story. If this is what you are looking for in an artist, then we are your shop! It is an honor bringing our client’s visions to life! 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Not always smooth! The market and what supplies are available (especially during COVID) often dictate how fast we can work, deadlines, and jobs that we can land. It has been hard getting tools, metal, and even walnut during this COVID epidemic. Mills are operating slower and overseas supplies have halted. We still find ways to keep rocking and making cool items. It did take us a while to find suppliers that could meet our needs. We had to reach out to multiple farmers, metal suppliers, etc. to build trustful and professional/business relationships over several years. Once we landed “partners” in our trade, everyone benefits and we can all grow as a team. Wicked Grain isn’t just “our family” it is all of our workers, wood mills, metal dudes, web designers, and anyone that helps us bring our vision to life. -That is making a kind/authentic and bad-ass furniture! 

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I graduated from Kansas University in 2002 with a BFA. I have always loved art and my favorite mediums to work with were paint, charcoal, clay, wood, and metal. I have always had a passion for building things (sculptures, functional art pieces, furniture, etc…). My grandfather was a master woodworker and inspired me as I became an adult. After he passed away during my college years, I wanted to continue his work and passion of the arts by going back to school to become an art educator. During my schooling, I also realized that I had the patience and ability to work with students who had special needs. S0…I changed my schooling and decided to be an HS SPED teacher that could also teach art (I got a Master’s in both). I then went on to teach HS SPED for 8 years and then landed a 6th-grade art gig for a year, and HS art for 3 years. I LOVED my job and coaching HS soccer, but grew tired with the politics behind education (ex: lack of funding for supplies, sports gear/uniforms, lack of classroom support, and no pay raises). I started making furniture on the side with my wife Jodi making small benches, tables, and bed frames. After seeing that I could make the same amount of $$ making items as a hobby as I could with a Master’s in teaching…I decided to get a small workshop in KCK for a year until I could decide if I wanted to take this biz to the next level. After posting our items on Etsy, FB, and even Craigs List……our orders just took off! We went from getting 1-2 orders/month to 15-25 orders a month (or more). That is when we made the leap of faith, started doing this FT, got a larger shop, and hired 3-4 workers to help us with this adventure! Things are rocking now and we keep growing!! So…NO regrets! 

We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
Working with my grandfather and making wooden sculptures, decks, etc…. and then going Fishing, because they lived on Grand Lake in OK. I also was nominated to help design our yearbooks, graduation shirts, and soccer shirt designs. Sports were also huge in our family! 

Pricing:

• $50 minimal order (cutting boards, food trays, etc.)
• rustic and hardwood benches $200-900 pending size and style
• Sliding Barn Doors $6-1000, pending styles
• Coffee Tables $400-1599 pending style, hardwoods, epoxy, etc…
• Custom Tables can be from $699-9999 pending style, table base, wood species

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.wickedgrain.com (new site is in the works!)
• Instagram: instagram.com/wickedgrain/?hl=en
• Facebook: facebook.com/wickedgrain
• Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/WickedGrain?ref=seller-platform-mcnav

Image Credits:
Elijah Kleine