Made in Tarrant: Arlington Heights resident started her woodworking business creating small gifts after flipping a family home | Fort Worth Report

Emma Dashner started her business sort of out of the blue. A new college grad who majored in strategic communication from TCU, she was exploring what she would become when she had a chance to flip her grandparents’ house in Hurst — and she found the answer. 

She completely gutted the house, added large windows, and preserved the original doors after stripping layers of paint from the wood. Through the process, she found her calling: working with her hands and transforming a design vision into reality.

She started Iradell Designs in 2022 and works out of her parents’ garage. Her current focus is on small, handcrafted household items, like charcuterie boards, art and small furniture pieces.

Dashner spoke to the Report’s Shomial Ahmad about her creative upbringing, how she structures her day and what she’s learned along the way about running her own business.

The interview has been edited for clarity and space. 

Contact information: 

Websites: Iradelldesigns.com |  Facebook | Instagram | Etsy Shop

Email: hello@iradelldesigns.com

Shomial Ahmad: You say on your website that you come from “a long line of doers.” Can you talk about how you grew up a maker and a creator, and what that upbringing was like?

Emma Dashner: I guess you could say my family always needs a project. My mom’s dad built every house she lived in, and I was constantly involved in projects like home remodels growing up. My parents are both creative and handy. My mom taught pre-K and was always crafting wild things like an igloo out of milk jugs. My dad, an engineer, was always fixing things around the house or fixing a car. 

I was surrounded by projects growing up and the creativity and problem-solving that comes along with them. My parents also never shied away from making a mess or trying something new. In high school for homecoming one year, my mom helped me make a life-size Academy Award trophy out of foam, wood and whatever else we could find. It was absolutely ridiculous, and we had no idea what we were doing, but things like that were pretty commonplace around my house growing up.

Ahmad: One of your big sellers is a personalized charcuterie board? How long does it take you to make one, and what’s the process like?

Dashner: It really depends on the size, complexity and whether I’m adding resin, but making a personalized board takes a good amount of time. I hand-select the wood from a lumberyard — usually hard maple or black walnut — then mill it to the correct size. 

After that, it goes on my CNC machine to cut out the shape or design. Then comes the sanding, which can feel like it takes forever, but it’s a crucial part of the process. If the board is personalized, I’ll typically laser-engrave it before finishing with food-safe mineral oil and board wax.

Ahmad: What else does your business do, and how do you divide your time or structure your day?

Dashner: My days vary, partially because I wear so many different hats running a small business, but also because I’m still figuring out my process and what works best for me. Generally, I’ll have “admin” days, where I like to go to different coffee shops and work on things like accounting, social media or other marketing tasks. Then I’ll have workshop days where I’m in the garage actually making things and working on projects.

Ahmad: Do you do this full time or is this a side gig? Are there thoughts on how to grow your business?

Dashner: Thanks to the sale of my grandparents’ house, I’m able to do this full time, and I’m incredibly grateful for that opportunity. Right now, most of my sales come from Etsy and local markets. I plan to keep growing in those areas, but I’d also love to get my products into stores around Fort Worth and start doing more wholesale or group orders. 

Most of the opportunities I’ve gotten so far have come from just talking to people, letting them know what I do and making sure everyone I meet walks away with a business card in their hand. 

I don’t like the word “networking” because it sounds so corporate, and it makes me think of sitting in a sad cubicle all day, but just talking to people has been really great for my business.

Ahmad: A lot of the work that you do is solo in a garage shared with Rubye, a red 1968 Camaro. Do you have an artistic community that you’ve cultivated? If so, how have you formed it?

Dashner: Since my Arlington Heights apartment isn’t conducive to woodworking, I work out of my parents’ garage – a garage that also happens to house a bright red 1968 Camaro, a project my dad and brother took on about 10 years ago now. We call her Rubye, after my grandmother, and she keeps me on my toes. 

I’m not sure how my dad, who so graciously lets me use his garage, would react to anything happening to that car, so I do my best every day to make sure I never have to find out. 

On this same note, a lot of my days are spent working solo, so I’ve made a point to try and connect with other creatives in Fort Worth mostly at markets or through social media. I’m still pretty new to the creative community in Fort Worth, but I’ve found everyone very approachable and welcoming. 

I think this is really a reflection of Fort Worth’s “biggest little town in Texas” feel. Fort Worth is a huge city, meaning there’s a lot of opportunity and incredibly creative people, but it doesn’t feel overwhelming or too big to handle.

Ahmad: What have you learned about business along the way, and what are some key takeaways for you in running your own business? 

Dashner: Running a small business has been a real lesson in self-awareness and personal reflection. You quickly figure out what you’re good at — designing and creating — and what you’re not so good at — accounting, or anything involving numbers, really. 

One key takeaway, especially from remodeling my grandparents’ house, was the importance of playing to my strengths and outsourcing the rest — when I can afford to. 

I love the challenge of turning a piece of wood into something people can use, but keeping myself organized along the way has been a whole different skill to master. I’ve also learned how vital it is to find the balance between creating something unique and making things people actually want to buy. It’s this constant dance between standing out but still appealing to the masses. 

The goal is always to create something memorable while keeping it functional and practical, because if no one’s buying what you make, it’s just a very expensive hobby.

Ahmad: Can you describe one Fort Worth thing that served as inspiration for one of your creative projects?

Dashner: Fort Worth’s history with the cattle trade and the Stockyards is a big one, but aside from that I’d have to say all the different architecture around the city. I’ve always been a bit of an architecture nerd, partly because I just love looking at beautiful buildings but also because I’m fascinated by the balance of form and function, which is something I try to do — on a much smaller scale — in my woodworking. 

I love the clean lines of a more modern building like the Kimbell Art Museum, the simple, no-nonsense shapes of Southside’s brick facades, and the little intricate details you find on art deco spots like the old train station on Lancaster. I could talk about Fort Worth architecture forever, but I’ll stop before this turns into me just listing buildings around Fort Worth. No one needs to read that!

Shomial Ahmad is a higher education reporter for the Fort Worth Report, in partnership with Open Campus. Contact her at shomial.ahmad@fortworthreport.org.

At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.

The Texas Tribune partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage.

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