My name is Jim Vandeveld. I am a 33 year old husband and father of five from Erie, Pennsylvania. I've been moonlighting as a custom knifemaker and aspiring entrepreneur since January of 2016, working from the basement of my small home (under sleeping children!) fueled by a huge dream and a giant pile of ambition. At this time, I am doing something that is not native to me - asking for help!
Like many, I work hard to support my family and realize my full potential as a human. For the last decade, I've been a 65 hour, 7 day a week tool and die maker who comes home after a 12 hour day, kisses his wife and kids and heads to the basement to chase his higher calling. For years, I made it work in my micro workspace--150 total square feet of 6 1/2 ft high ceiling-ed heaven. But the end of 2019, something changed. My wife and I found out that we were having our fifth child (Inez, born August 3, 2020!) Officially, we were out of space in our 1600 sq foot, 3-bedroom home. I needed to find a way to get my business out of our basement to make room for more bedrooms down there. A plan was hatched!
At the beginning of 2020 (pre-Covid-19) I took what little extra we had and with the help of a close friend, launched a production knife project with the hope of taking 100% of the profit and building a standalone workshop in my backyard. And then, shortly after finalizing the financial commitment to the project, my wife lost her job right before the pandemic. I was fortunate to be able to continue to work, and I kept my family afloat while we persevered with the production knife project. Fast forward to mid-July 2020...the project was a wrap and the support was magnanimous. With the birth of my daughter nearly upon us, I wasted no time in channeling the resources acquired through the project directly into building the workshop.
It became abundantly clear over the following 6 weeks that the $35,000 that I had raised in my production knife project just wasn't going to cover all that I needed to get my workshop completed. I did everything I could to stretch it as far as it could possibly go, but am now at a standstill. With my wife being out of work (raising an infant and three-year-old, while homeschooling my three sons), I have taken on the financial gap left by her loss of income, which has left little in our monthly budget to dedicate to my workshop completion. So far, I've allocated my resources into site excavation, building shell construction, concrete and electric service installation. All of the interior work remains, which is obviously a crucial and critical step to allow me to occupy and work in this space.
With your generous help, I would love to finish the interior framing, insulation, sheeting, heating, and surface mounted electrical work that I need to make my shop functional. With just a couple of months remaining before the onset of the harsh Pennsylvania winter, my time frame for completing project is unfortunately small, and closing by the day. It would mean everything to my family and me if you are able to help my business move and my family find comfort during this time of global crisis. I've always modeled my life around the idea of #LivingGenerously, finding purpose in helping others. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, to any and all who find the same value in that way of life and apply it here.
If you have any questions about the project before making a donation, please feel free to e-mail me through the link provided on this page, or a direct message on Instagram, @hmc.knives - have a great week!
Jim Vandeveld
Like many, I work hard to support my family and realize my full potential as a human. For the last decade, I've been a 65 hour, 7 day a week tool and die maker who comes home after a 12 hour day, kisses his wife and kids and heads to the basement to chase his higher calling. For years, I made it work in my micro workspace--150 total square feet of 6 1/2 ft high ceiling-ed heaven. But the end of 2019, something changed. My wife and I found out that we were having our fifth child (Inez, born August 3, 2020!) Officially, we were out of space in our 1600 sq foot, 3-bedroom home. I needed to find a way to get my business out of our basement to make room for more bedrooms down there. A plan was hatched!
At the beginning of 2020 (pre-Covid-19) I took what little extra we had and with the help of a close friend, launched a production knife project with the hope of taking 100% of the profit and building a standalone workshop in my backyard. And then, shortly after finalizing the financial commitment to the project, my wife lost her job right before the pandemic. I was fortunate to be able to continue to work, and I kept my family afloat while we persevered with the production knife project. Fast forward to mid-July 2020...the project was a wrap and the support was magnanimous. With the birth of my daughter nearly upon us, I wasted no time in channeling the resources acquired through the project directly into building the workshop.
It became abundantly clear over the following 6 weeks that the $35,000 that I had raised in my production knife project just wasn't going to cover all that I needed to get my workshop completed. I did everything I could to stretch it as far as it could possibly go, but am now at a standstill. With my wife being out of work (raising an infant and three-year-old, while homeschooling my three sons), I have taken on the financial gap left by her loss of income, which has left little in our monthly budget to dedicate to my workshop completion. So far, I've allocated my resources into site excavation, building shell construction, concrete and electric service installation. All of the interior work remains, which is obviously a crucial and critical step to allow me to occupy and work in this space.
With your generous help, I would love to finish the interior framing, insulation, sheeting, heating, and surface mounted electrical work that I need to make my shop functional. With just a couple of months remaining before the onset of the harsh Pennsylvania winter, my time frame for completing project is unfortunately small, and closing by the day. It would mean everything to my family and me if you are able to help my business move and my family find comfort during this time of global crisis. I've always modeled my life around the idea of #LivingGenerously, finding purpose in helping others. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, to any and all who find the same value in that way of life and apply it here.
If you have any questions about the project before making a donation, please feel free to e-mail me through the link provided on this page, or a direct message on Instagram, @hmc.knives - have a great week!
Jim Vandeveld