I started by making Seder Plates.
I spend some years slowly building a very large computer-controlled machine as a project. Why? Because I was always interested in electro-mechanical systems, and this was challenging in a different way.
I was working and had two children, and not so much time was spent on the building or the software. My wife asked what I could do with it when it was done. I said I’d make a Seder plate.
For another three years, when Passover approached, she would ask if the Seder plate was ready, which never was. In the fourth year, I made a plate. It was beautiful, cut from dark Engish Elm, finished with tung oil, and wrong. I misspelled the Hebrew. By the next year, we had a proper plate. I made another, and another. What should a person do with extra Seder plates? Go to a craft sale and sell them. So, I did, and Carvings By Carl was started.
Over time, I have further developed the Seder plates, and offer several variations. Look through the photos. Your comments are more than welcome.