kitchen, bar & more
We are Kim Strassner & Mike Pararas.
This is our story.
Words with Boards was conceived in 2013 out of our desire to make handcrafted American made gifts for family and friends which were thoughtful and functional. It all started in the basement of our 1850’s Baltimore row home making one product, a personalized cutting board like no other.
“Words” traveled fast, as did their popularity. In 2015 our custom cutting boards were a finalist in the Martha Stewart AMERICAN MADE design contest. Later that year our custom cutting boards landed on Oprah Winfrey's iconic Favorite Things holiday list. What a year! Then in 2021 Drew Barrymore featured the custom cutting boards we made for her on her show!
Today, we have a fully equipped wood shop and design studio in Baltimore’s eclectic Hampden neighborhood where we specialize in artisan made one-of-a-kind heirloom gifts.
Our Philosophy:
We believe in creativity and the art of thoughtful gift-giving.
We believe each item we bring into our homes deserves a story, a style and a purpose.
We believe made in America matters.
We believe in giving back to our planet and community. The American hardwoods we use are sustainably forested and for each wooden product sold a tree is planted in the USA.
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Keep reading for other ways we keep pushing ourselves to be one of those companies that gives back.
Give Back
We strive to be a company that gives back to the community and the environment. Here are a few ways things we do:
We are an autism-friendly business and currently employ one really awesome autistic adult.
We donate custom cutting boards to local non-profits for silent auctions.
We are proud to have partnered with One Tree Planted, a 501C3 nonprofit, to give $1 for every wooden product sold from our website.
Wooden Cutting Board Inspiration
This is the wooden cutting board Kim made in wood shop all those years ago. It has seen a lot of use over the years. To preserve it her mom hung it on the kitchen wall for everyone to see. It is a true heirloom piece which is now hung on the wall outside of the wood shop in the Words with Boards studio.
Now, we are helping others create the perfect heirloom gift.
Our wooden cutting boards tell a story about love, life and friendship. Let us help you tell your story.
American Made
The materials we use from the wood to the hardware for the lazy susans are made in America.
Each letter is hand cut with a scroll saw then sanded in a multi step process. See our video below for more on how they are made.
We will always be known for our custom cutting boards and that's just fine with us. But with our backgrounds in product development and design, we can't stop with custom cutting boards. We will always be adding new products designed and made by us and other artisans to keep you coming back!