We craft each piece by hand in our Kentucky studio, weaving together crafting traditions of Appalachia, natural materials, and timeless design.
Meet Cynthia
Sunhouse Craft was started by artist / maker Cynthia Main as a place to combine her foundation in woodworking and traditional craft with a strong desire to find sustainable and harmonious ways of working. A passionate lover of nature, she devotes much of her work in the business to helping create a more verdant and connected future through sourcing and providing meaningful work. She has been making brooms since 2013, and working as a maker / builder / artist / gardener and farmer for more than two decades.
Meet Doug
The detail oriented maker on the team, Doug runs the power tool side of the wood shop, crafting each board with extreme care. An avid outdoorsman, and a deliberate craftsman, Doug works closely with our local sawmill to bring out the beauty of urban lumber in his work. When he is not working on boards, he can often be found exploring Kentucky’s wild places.
Our friends that help keep the shop running.
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Bethany Marker
Studio Assistant
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Heidi Earl
Studio Assistant
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Ryan Anthony
Studio Assistant
Customer relations department
Ray believes that everyone who walks through our doors is a friend, and we have to agree! He’s always happy to keep us company in the shop.
Our Values.
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Engagement
What if we had a vibrant, thriving community, working in harmony with the natural world? We aim to understand the materials we work with, how they got here, and learn to make work that is appropriate for the tasks at hand. We strive to pour our knowledge into our work, and are constantly learning more the further we go.
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Stewardship
We take the time to consider every aspect of our supply chain and work deliberately to leverage our needs to support a more thriving ecology. We love living on this planet and can’t help but show it in our actions: to try to always move more and more towards work that is more celebratory, restorative, and whole. It is a long way from the broken systems we inherit to where we are going, but love makes the steps possible. Stewardship is just another name for love.
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Community
We’ve watched our block go from nearly abandoned to thriving. We offer meaningful work to our community when we need help, and pay above living wage in exchange for their time. We practice a version of the craft from this region, celebrating the traditions of the handmade. We provide a space for gathering and learning craft, and for the resonant joy of delighting in the handmade.
Stop by our shop
After a yearlong participation in a public program sponsored by the City of Berea for artisans, we’ve decided to call Kentucky’s Arts and Crafts capital home! We’ve lovingly restored our historic building storefront and workshop ourselves using natural and salvaged materials, and helped the charm of the building at 414 Chestnut Street shine through. We’re part of the town’s Chestnut Street revival, and we love it here! Visit our storefront and see our work, and that of many other excellent makers from around the region!