I’m Greg and Jade Phoenix Woodworks Is My Garage Shop.
Step into my shop here in Spokane Valley and you’ll immediately smell Western Red Cedar, fresh pine shavings, and the occasional drift of woodsmoke from the driveway charring station.
By day, I work in software and spend time tending our backyard garden and herbs. Working with wood started as a way to build honest, durable things for our own home and yard. I wanted planters deep enough for real roots, benches sturdy enough for kids, and shelves with real character. Before long, neighbors and local gardeners began asking if I could build pieces for their homes too.
“And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;”
That verse is the backbone of this shop. In a world that moves fast and treats almost everything as temporary, there is a quiet satisfaction in coming inside at the end of the evening with sawdust on my boots and calloused hands.
Working out of our home shop means my kids get to see raw stacks of cedar and pine turned into something useful through patience, measurement, and sweat. And when you load one of my builds into the back of your vehicle, you aren't buying an anonymous box off a conveyor belt, you’re taking home a piece built by a local family for yours.
What Happens Inside the Workshop
Every project starts with selecting the right species for how you plan to use it, whether it's sitting out in January snow on your patio or welcoming guests in your front entryway.
Cedar for the Garden, Pine & Hardwoods Indoors
For outdoor beds and planters, I reach for Pacific Northwest Western Red Cedar. Its natural oils handle wet soil and Spokane winters without chemical treatments near your vegetables and herbs. Indoors, I work with local pine and select hardwoods with bold, honest grain.
Shou Sugi Ban (Yakisugi) Wood Burning
When a piece calls for deep character, I set up the cinder-block charring station on my driveway. Passing a high-heat torch over the wood burns back the softer grain, leaving rugged dark ridges. After wire-brushing and sealing with polyurethane, the grain pops in three dimensions.
Small-Batch & Custom Dimensions
Because I build one project at a time rather than mass-producing on an assembly line, you aren't locked into a single size. If your porch needs a 5-foot planter instead of a 4-foot box, or your mudroom needs a narrower bench, I cut the boards to fit your tape measure.
What Can I Build for Your Home or Garden?
Take a look through the portfolio to see past builds, or send me a message with the project you have in mind. I’d be honored to build something that serves your family for years to come.