Our Story

My name is Oakley, a name forever tied to the steadfastness of the Oak tree. My wife is Rae. For as long as we’ve been together, we have been inspired by the love described in Shu Ting’s poem, To the Oak Tree—a love where two stand as independent trees, their roots intertwined deep in the earth, their leaves touching in the clouds. A partnership of mutual support, not dependence. This vision of natural, symbiotic strength has been the foundation of our life together, and the quiet hope we held for the world.

Then one day, a single, heartbreaking image shattered our quiet hope.

It was a video of a majestic sea turtle, ancient and gentle, suffocating on a single plastic straw—a small, thoughtless artifact of human convenience that ended a beautiful, centuries-old life. In that moment, we knew our love for the Earth could no longer be a passive, poetic feeling. It had to become an action. Something real, something we could hold in our hands.

And so, OakenArk was born.

“Oaken” comes from my name, and from the poem. It represents the resilient, supportive partnership that Rae and I share. It is our reverence for the honest, natural materials we choose to work with—the solid strength of wood, the humble curve of a coconut shell, the soft weave of cotton. We believe that the objects in our lives should be like the oak: sturdy, sincere, and crafted to last.

“Ark” is our promise. In a world flooded by mass consumption, we are building a small vessel by hand. It’s an ark to carry objects that are kind to the planet; designs that can be cherished, repaired, and used for a lifetime. It is an ark that carries our hope for a cleaner, gentler world.

Aboard this ark, we work together, just as the poem describes:

I, Oakley, am the craftsman, the one who speaks the language of wood and shell. I am in charge of our workshop, our techniques, our making. I find my peace in the process—in taking a raw, overlooked material and, through the patient work of cutting, sanding, and polishing, awakening the soul within it, transforming it into an object of warmth and purpose.

Rae is the one who captures the light. With her camera and her words, she is the storyteller, the voice and vision of OakenArk. She photographs our finished pieces and shares our journey and our beliefs about mindful living with you. She is the warmth in your inbox, the eye that helps translate the feeling of our hands to yours.

OakenArk is more than our shop. It is our declaration. It is our way of life. We believe that changing the world doesn’t require grand gestures. It can begin with a single bowl, a pair of chopsticks, a conscious choice.

It can begin with you.

We warmly invite you to join us on this voyage. Let’s welcome nature’s comeback, together.

Nature's Comeback, In Your Home.