Bio
Calan Originals is a small craft business owned and operated by Alan and Cathe Hedgespeth. Alan is the main craftsman, spending countless hours making any number of items from beautiful hardwood. Alan makes toys that are durable and become keepsakes long after the child is grown. He makes functional items such as butcher- block trivets and desk items, as well as constructing limited edition, scale model vehicles for his own pleasure and on commission.
In addition to this, Alan carves. He uses traditional hand-held tools and creates carvings that are unique. Cathe paints most of these carvings and designs a good number of them. The Santas are the most popular, but Alan also does carvings of wildlife, golfers, baseball players and motorcyclists.
Alan works in his shop during the day and carves at night. He carves basswood, but uses Kentucky hardwoods in all his other projects. His swivel top boxes are made from walnut, cherry, and poplar, cut in a checkerboard fashion creating a unique look. These boxes were selected by the Kentucky Economic Cabinet to give to visiting VIPs and potential investors in Kentucky as a keepsake. The Governor of Kentucky gave them to his guests at the Kentucky Derby one year.
Alan's interest in wood working began over 30 years ago through refinishing furniture, then progressed to building antique reproductions. His work is in retail shops in eight states. He has had the distinction of having boxes and carvings travel as far as Japan. In 2008 Alan had three carvings admitted into a juried carving show at the Kentucky Artisan Center.