What is your shop name & URL, real name, and what do you sell?My name is Bob Matus,and my shop name is HeronCoveWoodCarving at http://heroncovewoodcarving.etsy.com/ . I sell mostly hand carved wooden spoons and kitchen utensils.
Where do you live? Tell us about your town.
I live in Cushing which is perhaps best known as the location of Andrew Wyeth's "Christina's World" painting. Located on a peninsula below Thomaston it is bounded by the St George river on one side and the Meduncook river on the other. It lies a bit off the beaten path and is home to a mix of lobstermen, artists and a number of talented crafts people. We have one general
store/gas station called Fales Store which has been in the same family for at least 100 years. There is an active Historical Society which has monthly meetings and guest speakers. Other than that you're on your own for entertainment!Tell us about your family & pets.
My wife, Sydne ,has been the Coordinator of the Breakwater Homeless Teen Shelter in Rockland since it opened nearly 6 years ago. Before that she was a freelance editor working on many crafts books as well as textbooks, mysteries and other how-to's. Although she doesn't sell her work
she
is an excellent knitter,crocheter and sometime embroiderer.For many years she ran the Craft Tent at the Thomaston 4th Of July Festival with a friend. We just celebrated our 25th Anniversary! Our daughter, Esther, recently graduated from Boston University where she majored in Exercise Science at Sargent College. She is still living in Boston and about to begin her career. We have a 9 yr old dog named Max who started out as Mini but quickly outgrew that name! He is half black lab and half golden retriever and does NOT go in the water!!How long have you been making your craft & what got you into it?
I have been a woodworker for over 35 years but I'd say I have been carving spoons for around the past 20 years. It started out with setting aside smaller scrap pieces of wood from larger projects such as boats. I used the bigger scraps for bird carvings but some pieces were too small or the wrong shape so I started carving spoons for fun...mostly as gifts. Every couple of years or so the Cushing Historical Society has a Craft Fair and I first began selling them there. I like the idea of creating useful objects from wood that otherwise ends up in the woodstove. In fact as I'm filling the woodstove I often set aside pieces that are just too pretty to burn!Do you feel like your craft is related to where you live?
Yes I do,in the sense that Maine is a heavily wooded state with a long tradition of boatbuilding, woodworking and practicality. So far,all the wood I've used for carving has been either scraps, salvage/found wood, driftwood or gift/trades.
Tell us about the awesome craftspeople that you've met around Maine-- have you collaborated or met with any Maine Team members?
Back when Sydne was running the Crafts Tent for 4th of July I had a table there for several years and met many fine crafts people.I currenty have some of my work at the Lucky Dog Gallery in Rockland where a number of fine craftspeople also 
sell. I only recently decided to promote my work online and found Etsy purely by chance. Shortly thereafter I joined the Maine Team and met Jamie ( http://jamieribisi.etsy.com/) and Jen (http://whimsidoodle.com/) at a potluck at Jen's house in Warren. I also attended one team meeting in Augusta where I met a number of awesome craftspeople. Again,the totally awesome artist and amazing person Jamie Ribisi was also there and I have to say we are SO lucky to have her as one of the new team leaders! For me Etsy and Jamie will always be synamonous! Outgoing team leader Becky (http://dirtgirlpottery.etsy.com/) was also there and we took some photos of our work together.That is the one collaboration/cross promotion I've done so far and I look forward to doing more. There were a number of other awesome crafts people there as well and I have to say I am so impressed with our team!
sell. I only recently decided to promote my work online and found Etsy purely by chance. Shortly thereafter I joined the Maine Team and met Jamie ( http://jamieribisi.etsy.com/) and Jen (http://whimsidoodle.com/) at a potluck at Jen's house in Warren. I also attended one team meeting in Augusta where I met a number of awesome craftspeople. Again,the totally awesome artist and amazing person Jamie Ribisi was also there and I have to say we are SO lucky to have her as one of the new team leaders! For me Etsy and Jamie will always be synamonous! Outgoing team leader Becky (http://dirtgirlpottery.etsy.com/) was also there and we took some photos of our work together.That is the one collaboration/cross promotion I've done so far and I look forward to doing more. There were a number of other awesome crafts people there as well and I have to say I am so impressed with our team! What are your plans for the future? 
I would like to get more sucessful with my carving business... maybe a separate website in addition to the Etsy shop. I'd also like to start listing other work besides the spoons. In the past I've done bird carvings and lately I've gotten into carving eagles,whales and mermaids! So hopefully at some point more of that will be offered.Beyond that I don't like to project too far 
ahead: I just wanna keep on keepin on!!
ahead: I just wanna keep on keepin on!!*****
Want to be featured in the Meet Your Neighbor series? Email Jamie at jamieribisi{at}gmail.com