About us? While there are infinite directions we could go in the business of swing making, we are currently heading towards one goal. Peace and quiet: as good as we can make it for as long as we can make it
Here is just a little bit of our story
In October of 2019 something woke me in the middle of the night. An idea so fun it has set my life on a completely new course and hopefully improved the lives of those around me. Those moments of inspiration can be so elusive and fleeting. I am extremely fortunate to have been able to take action to see it through. The last year has been such a great ride and I cant wait to see where the journey continues to take us.
For my idea- issue #1 was creating a proof of concept. My dear friend allowed me access to a lean-to shelter out in the middle of the woods where I powered a tiny welder from a generator. At the end of the first week this is what I came up with:
The very first swing I named “Daywave”. It was a 21 sided very pleasing geometric dish shaped swing. It had 7 hang points and was very popular as the first huge swing idea me or anyone I know had ever seen. The cushion created for this piece is one solid massive donut. This frame is just under 10 feet wide.
Immediately it was clear, large swings were cool.
One piece of furniture you could fit your whole family onto and fly through the air?
Uhhh, Heck Yes please and thank you.
The concept was proven and it was time to get creative.
Hazel 1.0
I moved into a shop still deep in the woods and got to work. How could we improve on the swings? My friend Marc suggests “why don’t you put a table in the middle?”
This is the swing that would eventually get 11.6 million views in July 2020
Baybee
This one took 2 full months to complete. A local artist Elsa Hoffman hand cut the plasma honeybees (that’s her in the picture). I found a locally made honeybee printed fabric to boot!
There will never be another swing like this one. I love this swing.
At this point I am sold on the viability of this new business venture.
I sell off all interests in my other business and divert all attention to making giant swings.
Having the best wife ever, she agrees to let me try and see where things land.
Where would anyone be in this world without supportive partners?
It’s somewhere during this time that we find out we are expecting our first baby.
He is the cutest thing ever to enter planet earth.
Zia
One morning I woke up with a Southwestern Native American design and needed to get that into a swing. It took an hour of googling to come up with the name, stemming from the image I had in my head.
Leg Dangler
My friends asked for a couch style group swing and this was the product of those efforts.
It was the basis for the convertible design of Hazel 2.0. It is really fun to have your legs just hanging down.
This brings us to today- where we actually took the swing to an engineering firm and designed it for strength. To launch a real product which we could confidently sell to a stranger, it took us several months. It’s still me welding them together at our shop in North Carolina and they are made just a handful at a time. It’s also still me handling emails and phone calls (I really enjoy talking with folks about swings), completing installations, and planning new swing ideas for the future. I feel lucky to be doing something which brings happiness to me and those I am serving. With the help of a good friend we designed and created other smaller swings (because realistically how many people have the money for a giant luxury swing). We launched the smaller porch swings recently and they have gotten quite a bit of attention. We have never seen anything like what we are making and are very proud of that.
We would love to sell you any of our swings. Also, if you have an idea of your own you’d like help with- maybe we can help!
Me
Please excuse what I am calling my “Covid-cut” hairdo. That was in June and I now have a burgeoning mullet that my wife promises will be gone before the holidays. This was the little man at less than a week. It turns out, babies really like the motion of swaying through the air.
Hazel 2.0
This is a shot of the hidden engineered product. It really is impressive if I say so myself. This gets powder coated, then there are custom CNC milled, specialized UV resistant, plastic inserts which support the specialty cushions. It was quite a feat to orchestrate. The rigging into trees is its own large accomplishment. We had to take into account shock load risks, tree girdling, cable tolerances, and all sorts of fun and special considerations. The final product is lovely. If you’re ever in Hillsborough, NC- I welcome any and all to test the demonstration swing in our front yard.
It’s unlike anything I have ever seen- still.