Meet the Makers

High Hope Woodworks (HHW) is a small business established in 2020, operating in Hope, Rhode Island, offering a variety of quality custom wood products. High Hope specializes in building custom wood projects by turning YOUR ideas into reality!  

Who we are ... High Hope Woodworks was co-founded by Michael (Mike) Smith aka "the Maker and woodworker ” and spouse, Erica Smith aka “the Boss”. Mike is the brains and talent behind our projects, executing a craftsmanship unlike any other. Erica supports the business and marketing side of things thanks to her MBA from the University of Rhode Island.

We could give you a detailed version of our story and how we got here today, but that would take too long so we opted for the shorter version. Mike and I first met in college and started dating in the summer of 2007. A couple years later we moved into our first home and got married in June 2013. Along our journey together we always enjoyed taking on “Design It & Build It Yourself” (DIBIY) projects. If we had a need for something, but couldn't find it in a store we would build the fixture/piece ourselves, such as end tables and night stands to cutting/serving boards and signs. 

We started making things for our family and friends, too and noticed the demand for our projects began to increase. We "informally" created ME Designs, and took on designing and building ad-hoc custom projects. One of our most popular items were wooden toy chests. Most of the time we gifted or sold four our products for much less than they cost us to build. We both considered this venture more of a hobby, than a business and were not making much of a profit. Anything made always went back into the woodshop to purchase more materials and tools. We began to out grow our one car garage and the workshop was getting too tight to work in.

Fast forward to June 2017, we had a baby boy on the way and moved into our "forever home" which also came with a HUGE garage aka Mike's dream shop! We were busy the first year in our new home with our baby, Hudson and focused on caring for him. After about a year, Mike got the itch to start building and making stuff again so he started to organize and use his shop more frequently, like the good ole days. Then in early March 2018, we had a terrible fire in the garage. While blessed no one was home or injured, we were devastated as we realized we not only the garage, but everything else in it, tools, heirlooms, years of hard-work, sweat, and tears, etc. After taking time to digest reality, we agreed we were not going to let this defeat us and began to rebuild.

Over a year later our garage was back in business, but better than  ever. We designed our dream workshop and were eager to start our new journey of fulfilling a longtime dream. Over the last year we have made some really cool, new products and excited to be able to showcase and sell them to others. High Hope Woodworks is our dream; a small woodworking business with a mission to be a maker of custom products using locally acquired wood and materials. We love creating new products that are unique by nature and built to compliment any space in your home or office.

We "Had to have high, high hopes for a living

Shooting for the stars when I couldn't make a killing 

Didn't have a dime but I always had a vision Always had high, high hopes 

Had to have high, high hopes for a living 

Didn't know how but I always had a feeling I was gonna be that one in a million 

Always had high, high hopes (high, high hopes)", Panic at the disco.

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