Lee Douma

As Lee Douma approached his 25th year as a high school English teacher, he was splitting black locust logs into firewood to heat his family’s home. Looking for a new hobby, he set aside a few pieces he considered too pretty to burn.

“I spent some time thinking about what I could make from that wood with the tools I had,” he said. “Eventually I settled on some simple, slightly curved cooking spatulas.” Several years and a few thousand spoons later, this hobby turned into his full-time job and earned him the Indiana Artisan designation.

Lee harvests roughly half of his wood himself, mostly walnut, cherry, and maple. He cuts and split slogs and then lets the wood dry for several months. “I mill the pieces with a bandsaw, cut a shape from one of dozens of templates I’ve designed, and then add unique variations in curve and depth as I sculpt the contours on a belt sander.”

The outcomes include sculpted spatulas, butter spreaders, whisks, blockhead spoons, roundhead spoons, and ladles beautiful enough for display but durable and practical enough for everyday use. Lee said, “I enjoy highlighting the visual and functional features of wood. The variations in grain, color, and character never get old. I love highlighting wood’s natural beauty and turning it into something useful.”

Lee ensures his utensils are crafted with attractive angles, curves, and handles. “I try to consider various aspects of cooking, baking, and serving,” he said. “I design my utensils with those things in mind.”

His utensils include some with curves that hug the edges of pans, some that are narrow for reaching into jars, and some are long and straight for stirring in stock pots. He also makes spoons designed for lefties, with a customized asymmetrical design. “I make the leading edges as thin and sharp as they can be while still being strong enough to stand up to years of active use,” he said.

Each piece is one of a kind. Customers have handle options in thickness and shape – long or short, narrow or thick, rounded or squared – so “those who sauté with a gentler grip can find one that feels right, and so can those who use a more aggressive approach.”

Lee enjoys inspiring an artistic appreciation in the user: “My goals are to enhance the cooking experience and increase appreciation of the beauty and character of wood from local trees. People who’ve used my utensils say they love the forest-to-table aspect of utensils made from trees that grew within an hour or two of their own kitchen.”