About Us

Hi there! We are Melanie, Riley, Casey, Cale, and Josh

Our super power is our ability to make sawdust!

We are a small team, blending our love of woodworking, finishing, and technology into pieces of home decor we feel are worthy of owning, sharing, and gifting. We call it "Cutting Our Own Groove".

We're glad you stopped by to learn a little more about us!

Melanie comes from a long-time passionate scrapbooker's background in beautiful SoCal. She enjoyed going to scrapbooking events with her friends, and sleeping under tables when exhausted from all the laughing and great conversation!

Cale comes from a traditional woodworkers background, learning and doing with his dad Bobby, in Louisiana. Cale grew up in a construction family, and seems to know everything from pouring concrete, finishing drywall, painting, plumbing, and electrical, to laying shingles on the roof!

Josh grew up in the mid-west and always loved to take things apart and build things. He learned a great deal in high school shop that gave him the base he needed to expand his skills with every project. From home remodeling to cutting boards to a tree house, and scratch-built furniture in every room in the house, Josh continues to love working with his hands and has gained a new appreciation for all the various species of wood. Josh finds the next phase of combining art and wood very exciting!

Riley and Casey are Miniature Schnauzers born in 2023. These two are inseparable and steal hearts wherever they go. 

Together, we have owned a variety of small businesses ranging from woodworking to fitness training!

When Melanie and Cale first met, Cale had 4 sons and they needed to find a way for everyone to co-exist in a two-bedroom apartment—at least for a while. After shopping for bedroom furniture for weeks, they gave up and decided to build their own! Cale jotted down some measurements on a bar napkin (this made Melanie very nervous) and headed to the local big box store for tools and supplies.

Melanie LOVES color!

Josh is hard at working assembling a new CNC in the shop!

Sweet little Casey - Possibly the best and most perfect dog on the planet!

Older by only a few months and just as adorable, sweet little Riley has one blue eye and one eye that is half blue and half brown. She is a heart thief for sure!

Josh is installing the finishing trim on this beautiful LED backlit mountain wall.

Business signage to 11! We built this amazing piece of art as a sign update for Castle Rocks and Jewelry. Isi and Jennifer, the owners, absolutely LOVE it!!!

Cale comes from a traditional woodworkers background, learning and doing with his dad Bobby in Louisiana. Cale grew up in a construction family, and seems to know everything from pouring concrete, finishing drywall, painting, plumbing and electrical, to laying shingles on the roof!

Melanie comes from a long-time passionate scrapbooker's background in beautiful SoCal. She enjoyed going to scrapbooking events with her friends, and sleeping under tables when exhausted from all the laughing and great conversation!

Together, we have owned a variety of small businesses including a dedicated woodworking business named WoodTech'r. Now you can find all of our works under one name - Dansbee Designs

When we first met, I had 4 sons from a previous marriage, and we needed to find a way for all of us to co-exist in a two bedroom apartment, at least for a while. After shopping for bedroom furniture for weeks, we gave up and decided to build our own! We jotted down some measurements on a bar napkin (this made Melanie very nervous) and headed to the local big box store for tools and supplies.

 Cale and Melanie creating bunk beds!

Awww - Our very first table saw! A super cute little Ryobi!

Cale cutting down the wood to make the bunkbeds

Nope! That's not lawn furniture -- That's and urban saw horse ;)

Melanie sanding, sanding, and more sanding!

Look at that PPE! That's Personal Protective Equipment :) Melanie is an enthusiastic beginner at this whole woodworking thing. She is still wondering if Cale's bar napkin drawing and rogue trip to the lumber yard will pay off! "Way to use that urban saw horse as a chair!"

Cale cutting wood

Cale loves his hand tools, but I think this cheesy miter box saw is testing his patience -- Just wait! Someday you will own a wicked cool Kapex miter saw!

we are making progress on the bunk beds

What was I thinking with that hair??? Welcome to SoCal woodworking... in flip flops! Don't think you can get those with a safety toe! Guess I don't embrace the PPE like Melanie does!

Melanie rocks the Survivor Crop t-shirt

There she is! Rocking that Survivor Crop T-Shirt!!! Ain't she cute?

making good progress on the bunk beds

Doesn't really look like beds yet -- At this point, she is likely thinking "This is ridiculous!" LOL

construction grade wood bunk beds almost done

It is starting to look like three beds and a computer desk. Maybe Cale knew what he was doing all along...Naaa, this is just luck!

two coats of stealth jet black

Ok, out the door with safety - Please don't do this at home kids. We could probably afford a small ladder. Melanie lays down 2 coats of Stealth Jet Black!

almost completed triple stack bunk beds

All painted and now it's time to start the really fun part of the project! What room filled with 4 little boys couldn't benefit from something really fun that slides out from under the bottom bed?

painting gold tees as traffic cones

Ok, time to tip the hat to Cale on this one -- He cut down wooden golf tees and painted them bright orange. These will be our little tiny traffic cones!

parts for the in-field

These are the props for pit row!

gluing down the prop pieces

Melanie breaks out the scrapbooker's pistol (hot glue gun) and goes to work on the in-field.

Cale tries the hot glue gun

Cale with the Midget-Cricket -- Yes, our apartment was so small, we had to build this last part on our bed and move it each night!

adding flames and racing stripes to the bunk beds

Flames and racing stripes added, along with pull handles to make it easier to slide the slot car track out from under the bed. The whole thing rides on 12 magic carpet sliders.

Cale always wanted a slot car track as a kid

Cale always wanted a slot car track when he was a kid -- I think he is making up for lost time here!

time to set up the gaming box

Of course with Cale working in IT, the boys had to have a nice computer! This one carries a little something extra!

The custom classic arcade controller

For Wyatt's birthday, Cale built a completely custom hardware/software platform filled with old classic arcade games and tucked it into the boys new gaming computer. This controller allowed the boys to play all the classic arcades that Cale and I grew up on. Watching them laugh and play these games was worth all the time and effort that went into making it possible. Cale can do anything!

Adding a few Auto Zone accessories to complete the look

We added a few Auto Zone accessories to complete the look! This air filter is welded onto a piece of chrome closet bar (left over from making the ladder).

The Dansbee Boys

Even though they are all grown up now, they will forever be, The Dansbee Boys!

It's play time for the Dansbee Boys

It's PLAY TIME -- Mason (orange shirt) and Gavin (green shirt) race and crash. They are surprised at how fast the cars move.

The Dansbee Boys and their new bunk beds

And this was home for a time. This was 2006. Since then, these beds have been disassembled and moved at least 3 times and reassembled in their new home(s). When the boys had all grown up and moved on, the beds came down and Melanie and I made sure to include some part of these beds in almost every woodworking project we would make together. 
When we decided to maximize the storage under our stairs, we used parts of these beds for the 350lb rated drawer slides.

Harry Potter storage under the stairs

Notice Melanie's super fun PacMan art on the wall? So cool! Oh, and the Harry Potter 'Under the Stairs' storage project. 
There are even parts of these beds permanently installed as components of our master bedroom closet renovation in our previous home!
In our current home, parts of these beds were used to create a workbench for tuning snow skis and snowboards. 
Well, now you know a little about us, what drives us, and how much we enjoy building things together. If you are planning a home improvement project, or considering a new hobby, we wholeheartedly say "Carpe Diem" -- Seize the moment and dot it!
 
PS - For a time, Melanie may have continued to think that Cale's luck held up with his crazy bar napkin drawing and disorganized trip to the lumber yard. Years later, we would repeat the same process for a 16'x20' elevated wooden deck with a curved edge around our pool, including a matching all wood pergola, with matching hammocks. When it comes to seeing something in his mind and making it a reality, Cale has a real knack for these things!
 
Team Dansbee Designs -- Cutting Our Own Groove!