A Baltimore small business is set to receive national attention as its products were just featured on “The Tamron Hall Show.”
Mike Pararas is busy crafting inside the woodshop at Words with Boards in Woodberry. He and his wife, Kim Strassner, founded the store in 2015 on Union Avenue, where they create and sell personalized handmade cutting boards, keepsakes, and other heirloom-quality items.
“Any of the cutting boards with the words or names cut out at the top are all hand-cut with a scroll saw, a tiny little blade cutting each individual letter,” Strassner told 11 News in an interview.
“We truly spend a lot of time with our product, and I think people, once they see it, feel it, hold it, they realize this is really nicely made stuff,” Parasas told 11 News.
Thanks to the uniqueness of their creations, Words with Boards quickly caught the attention of major names in the entertainment industry.
“We first got noticed right away with Martha Stewart, and then a year later, we were on Oprah’s ‘Favorite Things List,’ which was huge. It really put us on the map. And then, we were on ‘The Drew Barrymore Show,'” Strassner told 11 News.
“This show is all about Thanksgiving cooking, and so, our boards are going to be featured as serving pieces and cutting board pieces, and then each member of the audience also received cutting boards,” Strassner told 11 News.
The audience received cutting boards engraved with the word “Thankful,” a sentiment that perfectly reflects how Words with Boards feels about the exposure and the chance to share their passion with others.
“It’s so humbling and amazing and makes it worth it, really. People ask us what keeps us going, and it’s really the feedback that we get from our customers,” Strassner told 11 News.
