A huge assortment of locally handcrafted wooden toys and gifts will be ready to come home with shoppers at the sixth annual Holiday Gift Sale, hosted Nov. 17 and 18 by the San Diego Fine Woodworkers Association (SDFWA).
The two-day event, held in the new 5,200-square-foot SDFWA member shop, will offer more than 2,300 handmade wooden treasures such as jewelry boxes, cutting boards, turned bowls, kids’ toys, kitchen accessories, seasonal decorations and much more. Custom golf putters made out of birdseye maple are among the new additions for 2023.
The sale will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at 5360 Eastgate Mall, Suite E, off Miramar Road, with plenty of free parking.
A light-up tree ornament in the 2022 gift sale shows intricate detail work by a local woodworker.
(Eduardo Contreras / The San Diego Union-Tribune file)
The nonprofit SDFWA, which also presents the world-famous Design in Wood competition and exhibition at the annual San Diego County Fair, is one of the largest woodworking clubs in the United States. San Diego Fine Woodworkers Association, which began in 1981, is an all-volunteer association with members running all aspects of the shop, including teaching classes, maintaining machines, supervising shop operations and administration.
Members have been busy all year, carving, building and turning a wide variety of wood species into heirloom-quality gifts for the annual sale that are creative, fun and functional.
Proceeds help fund the member shop and allow the group to offer skill-building classes. In 2023, SDFWA offered 26 unique class sessions, serving 528 students, and membership is growing in both numbers and diversity. An estimated 40 percent of new members are female, and younger residents are also taking up woodworking as a creative endeavor, according to a group spokesperson.
For more information on the Holiday Sale, visit sdfwa.org/holiday-gift-sale-2023.
