In a little unincorporated place known as Hiouchi, near the Jedediah Smith State Park, a woodcarving shop is among a dying breed.
âThereâs not a lot of young people doing it,â said co-owner Lee Nylen, one of Hiouchiâs 301 residents, according to the last census count. âCrescent City used to have 10 or 12 shops, Gasquet used to have one or two, there were probably people out in Smith River, down in Klamath, just in this county.â
Now, thereâs just a few sprinkled throughout the county, said Nylen. One of them being the Jed Smith Redwood Burl Co.
Inside, patrons will find hundreds of carvings of different colors, shapes, sizes and finishes, all lining the walls and strewn about the property. There are realistic renditions of seals, salmon, bears and, yes, plenty of redwood trees, most of them carved from coastal redwoods.