Behind the Doors: ‘Maple Leaf’ family fills demand for wood

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t all started in Iowa, with a cabinet and a Facebook post. 

Mike Brogden built a cabinet for his wife, Cari, when they were living in Akron, Iowa, several years ago. She posted a picture on Facebook, and people liked it. They wondered if Mike could build them something, too.

Then the requests started coming in.

Mike’s not a builder by trade. He’s got an office job, doing dispatch for LG Everist in downtown Sioux Falls.

But he’d rather be building. 

When the Brogdens moved to Brandon in 2016, they wandered into Gypsy Trading Company and met the owner, Ellison Cutrer.

Mike built a few tables for the store, “and then it just kind of steamrolled from there,” Cari said. “And then we started looking at Pinterest…”

“We’ll get messages – ‘Hey, can you make me this?’ And it’s something they found on Pinterest,” Mike said.

The Brogdens turned their Facebook page, Mike’s Woodworks, into an LLC with a name more to Cari’s liking: Maple Leaf Furniture Co.

Mike is Canadian, and the name and the logo – a maple leaf – came to Cari one day.

Both of the Brogdens were perusing Pinterest, without even realizing it. 

“I started looking to find out how they make the cool signs,” she said.

Mike had made an Iowa Hawkeye bench by printing out the letters, tracing around them and painting it.

“I hated it. It was horrible,” he said.

They invested in a Silhouette, a printer that cuts vinyl stencils, and began making their own wooden signs with words and expressions. 

When AR Workshop opened in Sioux Falls, Cari went there with friends for a Ladies Night.

“I thought, ‘This is exactly what I do at home,’” she said. “They’re doing it the exact same way we make signs.”

She pitched the idea of a project night to Cutrer, and last December, Maple Leaf Furniture Co. hosted their first sign-making class at Gypsy Trading Co.

“We completely sold out. And God bless us, we made it through somehow. It was a very nice group of people,” Cari said. “Ellison’s always been so gracious to allow us to do project nights in her facility.”

Meanwhile, Mike kept taking orders for furniture through the Facebook page – tables, desk sets, beds, nightstands. 

“We probably get inquiries for orders almost daily now,” Cari said.

He recently finished a bedroom set. They get most of their wood from Brandon Lumber.

“We try to get everything from Brandon Lumber, because they’re local, like we are, and the quality of boards is a lot better,” Cari said. 

Mike sends his wife down with a list every few days. 

“And I really like the guys. I don’t even know half of the time what I’m talking about,” she said with a laugh.

Maple Leaf has also done a few fundraisers for the Brandon Valley School District, holding classes and donating part of the proceeds to school PTAs. 

They made “welcome” signs and, most recently, a couple of sock gnome crafting workshops. 

Maple Leaf has also held sign-making workshops at businesses, churches and homes for parties. A bachelorette party recently drove more than an hour for a sign-making workshop.

“We’ll ride that train while it’s popular,” Cari said.

For the Brogdens, sign-making is a family affair. Mike cuts and sands wood, she paints and stains – their oldest son, Ty, occasionally helps stain, too – and Mike applies the stencil.

“We are a group effort,” Cari said.

She’s also the final eye to give a piece a thumbs-up.

“In order to do things quality, you have to be particular. Mike has always said to me, ‘You’re too picky,’ and I say, ‘No, I’m quality control,’” she said.

They’ve slowly built up their inventory of tools, like table and scroll saws. 

“You gotta have good tools, or you’re not going to do a good job,” Mike said. 

The equipment investment has helped Maple Leaf tremendously, Cari noted.

“I still need more tools,” Mike said with a smile. “A C&C would be nice.”

When it comes to signs, they can make most anything, as long as it doesn’t involve metal or engraving.

“We entertain any requests,” Cari said. “Like Mike said, someone will send us a Pinterest photo and say, ‘Can you do this?’ and nine times out of 10, we can.”

In addition to taking orders locally on Facebook and taking custom orders for Gypsy Trading Co., they’ve also opened at Etsy shop.

“We’re fortunate enough that we’re at a point now where we’re busy, but not quite busy enough to quit our day jobs,” said Cari, who does payroll for five school districts in Iowa from home. “Thankfully, for us, it does slow up a little in the summer. We have a couple of baseball players in the family.”

She also handles marketing for Maple Leaf Furniture Co., though it’s Mike who has the degree in that area.

The couple laugh about that. 

“I actually never even thought about that,” Mike said.

One item he’d like to make but hasn’t made yet is a dining room table.

Cari said it’s on her bucket list.

“She can’t afford it, though,” he said with a smile.

The Brogdens also laugh about the number of furniture requests they get from customers who don’t know what size item they want.

“I get that a lot. ‘Well, what do you think?’ or ‘What’s the standard?’” Mike said. “For some things, there are standards – end tables, sofa tables, chairs, benches – those are all standard. But when you start going with a cabinet or whatever – ‘Well, what’s standard?’ I’m like, ‘There is no standard.’ It’s, ‘What do you want?’”

Cari agreed.

“We are literally, ‘What do you want?’” she said. “The nice thing about coming to us is, if you go into Target, you’re stuck with what’s there. You come to us, you can choose your color, you can choose your size – it’s custom everything.”

A customer recently ordered a sign and asked, “What’s the next size up?”

“They’re so used to being pigeon-holed into, ‘This is what’s available,’” Cari said. “It’s whatever you want it to be.”

To learn more about Maple Leaf Furniture Co. or put in a party request, visit their Facebook page or email mapleleaffurnitureco@gmail.com.