Our Story

Rooted in Nature, Shaped by Hand, and Made to Be Treasured

OakenArk began with two people, one shared belief, and a desire to create objects with enough character and meaning to be kept rather than quickly replaced.

My name is Oakley, and my wife is Rae. Throughout our life together, we have been inspired by the vision of love expressed in Shu Ting’s poem To the Oak Tree: two people standing firmly on their own, yet growing side by side and offering one another strength without losing their independence.

That idea became part of the foundation of both our partnership and the name OakenArk.

“Oaken” comes from my name and from the oak tree, which has long represented resilience, sincerity, and quiet strength to us.

“Ark” represents a vessel carrying the things we believe are worth preserving: craftsmanship, imagination, natural materials, thoughtful design, and the stories people form around the objects they choose to keep.

From Concern to Craft

The idea for OakenArk became more tangible after we saw a video of a sea turtle struggling because of discarded plastic. It made us think more carefully about the distance between everyday choices and their wider consequences.

Our first collections grew from that reflection. We worked with practical home pieces using materials such as coconut shell, wood, cotton, and other natural fibers. Those early products became our first attempt to make everyday objects with more attention to material, use, and longevity.

If you would like to read more about that early chapter of OakenArk, our journal tells the longer story in From Code to Coconuts: The OakenArk Journey .

When Wool Felt Gave Us a New Language

As OakenArk grew, our work gradually moved beyond practical home goods toward something more expressive.

We began working more deeply with wool and needle felting. Through repeated shaping with specialized barbed felting needles, loose wool fibers can slowly become a face, a paw, a coat, a tiny accessory, or the expression of an entire character.

Wool gave us a new creative language. It allowed us to combine our interest in natural materials with character design, humor, emotion, storytelling, and patient handwork.

What began with simpler felt creations developed into original animal characters, collectible figurines, seasonal decorations, wedding keepsakes, felt flowers, and handmade gifts for shelves, desks, celebrations, and collector displays.

Our early home goods remain part of OakenArk's roots, but handmade felt gifts and collectible characters have become the heart of the world we are building today.

More Than a Handmade Object

Each felt character begins with an idea: a personality, a small moment, a familiar expression, or a story we want to explore.

Some are gentle. Others are curious, grumpy, romantic, proud, or slightly mischievous. A character often changes during the making process as its proportions, expression, clothing, and final details come together.

Because each piece is individually handmade, subtle variations in shape, wool texture, expression, proportions, and detail placement are normal. They are part of the character of handmade work rather than signs of machine-standardized production.

How Our Felt Pieces Are Made

Wool is the primary material used in our felt characters and figurines. Depending on the design, a piece may also include internal supports, thread, fabric, wood, beads, bells, buttons, adhesives, hanging cords, or other decorative components.

Expressions, clothing, ears, paws, accessories, and surface details are added gradually by hand. Because materials and construction can vary by design, we provide product-specific information wherever it is relevant.

Our felt figurines are primarily decorative keepsakes and collectibles, rather than ordinary children's toys, unless an individual product page specifically states otherwise.

For more about construction, materials, handmade variations, display, cleaning, and storage, visit our Materials & Care information .

Two People, One Shared Creation

Oakley guides much of the making side of OakenArk: materials, techniques, construction, workshop standards, and the process of turning an early idea into a finished piece.

Rae shapes much of the visual and emotional world around those creations. Through photography, storytelling, collection development, presentation, and customer experience, she helps each character find the right setting and voice.

Together, we guide OakenArk from the first concept and sample through production, photography, packaging, and the moment a finished piece reaches its new home.

What We Believe

We believe handmade objects matter because they preserve something that standardized production often removes: the visible decisions of the maker, the character of the material, and small variations that make one piece different from another.

We also believe meaningful objects do not need to be large or extravagant. Sometimes it is a tiny felt animal on a bookshelf, a character beside a computer monitor, a wedding keepsake, or a familiar little figure that becomes associated with a particular person or memory.

The pieces we value most are often the ones we continue to display, protect, care for, and carry with us through different chapters of life. That idea shapes how we think about both design and craftsmanship.