A Woodworking Business With Roots in a Destructive Storm
Nature is a mighty force, a continuous cycle of creation and destruction. Its ferocious power was hardly more on display in recent local history than it was in the fall of 2016 when Hurricane Matthew barreled along the east coast of Florida, leaving a path of destruction in its wake. For local woodworker Peter Mignone of Arbor Novo, the storm awoke a dormant creative passion he didn’t know he possessed.
After the winds had passed, Mignone ventured outside his Atlantic Beach home to assess the damage. Fallen trees and debris littered the streets. All was quiet until a terrible cracking sound punctuated the post-storm stillness. Just then, a giant limb snapped, smashing into the roof of his screen porch before striking Mignone himself in the head. For Mignone, it was an “aha!” moment à la Newton’s apple.
Prior to this near-death experience, Mignone had no exposure to woodworking. He had, however, developed an intense connection with and appreciation for nature after escaping the concrete jungle of his native New York to be nearer to the ocean. In South Carolina, Mignone discovered a passion for surfing, but as the responsibilities of raising a family and growing his pharmaceutical industry recruiting business began to take priority, he spent less time surfing and more time inland where he developed a passion for the outdoors, trees in particular. “It awakened a part of me that I didn’t know was there,” Mignone says. “I hate to use the term spiritual connection, but that’s what it felt like.”
Days after the hurricane, Mignone was struck again, this time by the sight of all the wood piled up along his street. “It seemed like such a colossal waste of resources,” he says, knowing all of it was destined for the landfill. But it wasn’t until his wife asked him to get rid of an old broken wooden spoon in their kitchen that he began to take his first steps towards his new future.
“As I was throwing it out, I wondered if I could make a spoon out of real wood,” says Mignone. Using only a small hand saw and chisel from his garage, he hacked away at a piece from his pile until he had something resembling more club than spoon, but served its purpose, nonetheless. With no lack of material at his disposal, Mignone soon found himself devoting more time and energy towards his new pursuit.
What began as a hobby inspired by a love of nature and an aversion to waste soon blossomed into a full-time pursuit after the pandemic put a pause on his recruiting business. Now, Mignone spends his days in search of the perfect raw material from which to fashion his signature wares. As he tells it, wood selection is the cornerstone of his craft and the source of his inspiration.
Not unlike a chef picking out the perfect produce at a farmers' market, Mignone meticulously inspects the wood he finds either through exotic hardwood distributors or his favorite source, random wood piles along the side of the road. “I think that’s something I’ve developed a keen eye for, finding pieces in their raw state that have some variance that I know can be highlighted to make something truly unique,” says Mignone. “I feel like the piece that I’m making is already there. All I need to do is reveal it by peeling away the pieces that don’t belong.”
Mignone gravitates towards American black walnut and sapele, an African hardwood that reveals a striking golden ribbon pattern in its grain when cut a certain way. But in his mind, every tree has the potential to tell a story and reveal something beautiful. “Whenever I see a tree that is different or new, I feel very connected to it,” he says. “The energy they give off is undeniable and extremely powerful if you’re attentive to it.”
Mignone’s early work focused on common household kitchen items like the aforementioned spoons, as well as cutting boards and bowls. He also makes knives, not just shaping the ornately carved handles, but forging the blades from steel himself. “It’s a wildly different approach,” he says. “With steel, you’re basically taking something that has no form, no appeal in its raw state, and trying to create something beautiful out of it.” Expertly crafted, the knives have captured the attention of local chefs like Chason Spencer, whose team uses them at the newly opened Chancho King brick-and-mortar restaurant in Murray Hill.
As Mignone’s skill has evolved, he’s sought evermore to capture the natural appeal and energy of wood and bring it into his customers’ homes. Lately, he’s focused his energy on creating decorative wooden sculptures that highlight the rippling grain pattern of the wood he chooses. “My goal is to replicate a sense of energy, of movement, in the things that I make,” he says. “I want to infuse the home with what I find to be an extremely powerful yet subtle way to add calm and warmth to a space.”
