密歇根新闻广播 手工雕刻的勺子让你叹为观止

Stateside's most recent stop in its "Artisans of Michigan" series brought us not too far from Kalamazoo, where we visited Paul Rutgers of Rutgers Wooden Spoon and Utensil¹ Company.

Rutgers did not start out with a passion for carving² spoons and ladles. He worked in construction, laying tile. Then the Great Recession hit and work dried up. Money was tight and he thought instead of buying gifts for family, he’d make some wooden spoons for them. They were a hit. His friends liked them and wanted Rutgers to them some spoons, too.

“Just one thing leads to another, and the next thing you know, I’m carving spoons for a living,” Rutgers said. “It was kind of an accident. I’ve never met anyone, other than maybe my kids, that thinks I’m going to carve spoons someday.”

Rutgers remembers his first time setting up shop at a farmers market. He had some spoons, but not really enough money to pay the $50 fee for setting up a booth. He approached the market’s manager and told her, “I’m sure I’ll sell something; can I pay you in a couple of hours once I sell some stuff?”

She agreed

Rutgers ended up selling $600 worth of spoons. He never dreamed he'd sell that many.

“I’m feeling shocked, I’m feeling excited, I’m feeling relieved,” he recalled.

Rutgers knew he was on to something. He paid some bills. Made more and different wood utensils³. Sold some more. Bought some better tools.

This success was a total surprise. He’d intended to carve duck decoys, nice ones that you’d put on display. He says he didn’t mind the switch at all.

“I like carving spoons as much as I like carving ducks,” Rutgers said.

He feels the most rewarding part is when he goes to work every day and it doesn’t feel like work.

But it was nerve wracking at first. He had a family to take care of, and a rainy day at a fair or a farmers market could mean little or no money. He was used to a steady paycheck, and this was not that. On the other hand, a good day would mean enough sales to make up for those bad ones.

So who buys the spoons and spatulas⁴, pie servers and ladles? Everybody.

“You know, a lot of people are really into food, right? Foodies and stuff. And really, I can’t really judge, pick a person out at a show or something and say this person is going to buy a spoon from me or not,” he said.

Along the way, he’s stumbled onto tools that have helped make things more efficient. For instance, he uses this ball shaped grinder on the end of a high speed drill to hollow out ladles. It was actually designed to rough up big truck tires for patching. It’s loud. It kicks up a cloud of saw dust. And it really makes things go faster.

“That’s the really nice thing about that grinder,” he said. “Probably the first five thousand spoons that I made I was using a gouge⁵ and a mallet,” Rutgers said.

The first FIVE THOUSAND spoons? I had to know just how many spoons Rutgers has carved.

He says he really hasn’t kept track, but he estimates over ten years, he’s carved between 35 and 40 thousand utensils.

That’s a lot of spoons.

You can find Rutgers Wooden Spoon and Utensil Company on Etsy. Or you can follow the company on Facebook and find out the next farmers market where you can find the spoons.

1 utensil   

n.器皿，用具

参考例句：

• The best carving utensil is a long, sharp, flexible knife.最好的雕刻工具是锋利而柔韧的长刻刀。
• Wok is a very common cooking utensil in every Chinese family.炒菜锅是每个中国人家庭里很常用的厨房食用具。

2 carving   

n.雕刻品，雕花

参考例句：

• All the furniture in the room had much carving.房间里所有的家具上都有许多雕刻。
• He acquired the craft of wood carving in his native town.他在老家学会了木雕手艺。

3 utensils   

器具，用具，器皿( utensil的名词复数 )； 器物

参考例句：

• Formerly most of our household utensils were made of brass. 以前我们家庭用的器皿多数是用黄铜做的。
• Some utensils were in a state of decay when they were unearthed. 有些器皿在出土时已经残破。

4 spatulas   

n.（搅拌或涂敷用的）铲，漆工抹刀( spatula的名词复数 )；压舌板

参考例句：

• Monica and Chandler's kitchen has 7 spatulas in plain view. 从平面图上看，Monica和Chandler家的厨房有7把锅铲。 来自互联网
• Other than the above, we also supply Silk Screen Printing Machine, Mesh, Film, Squeegee, Spatulas etc. 本公司除供应质优产品外，另外还经营各种印刷器材如丝网印刷机，网纱，网框，菲林，胶刮，调墨刀等。 来自互联网

5 gouge   

v.凿；挖出；n.半圆凿；凿孔；欺诈

参考例句：

• To make a Halloween lantern,you first have to gouge out the inside of the pumpkin.要做一个万圣节灯笼，你先得挖空这个南瓜。
• In the Middle Ages,a favourite punishment was to gouge out a prisoner's eyes.在中世纪，惩罚犯人最常用的办法是剜眼睛。