Spring has officially arrived and with it comes my favorite time of the year. NCAA basketball March Madness has tipped off, Major League Baseball spring training is in full swing and the PGA tour’s Masters Championship is right around the dogleg. You will have to excuse those horrible double entendres but just thinking about those three events produces an irrational giddiness inside me. It also produces millions of simultaneous eye rolls from wives and girlfriends around the country who know their husbands and boyfriends will be reduced to full on couch potatoes in the middle of spring-cleaning. More important than even those three things however, is the fact that in North Dakota, we are one step closer to getting the 3 reasons we choose to live here, June, July, and August.
It is clear to everyone that knows me that I love watching sports but even more so than that, I love participating in sports and enjoying the outdoors. While I’m not afraid of venturing into the outdoors during the harsher months of the year, nothing beats teeing it up on the golf course, catching a fly ball in softball, or simply cruising around on the pontoon when it’s 80 degrees and sunny. However, with this annual revival of habitable conditions comes perhaps the most difficult aspect of working at Grain Designs, the management of fun and work.
Perhaps the best part of working at Grain Designs is the fact that for the most part we can be flexible with our work schedule, or at least that’s what I tell myself when I show up at 11am on a Monday. Honestly though, our business is less about working specific hours and more about making sure we meet a customer’s deadline. While making our own hours is a great perk, this time of the year presents arguably the most challenging aspect of our job.
If you visit the shop on a nice day, you may be just as likely to see Phil and I playing catch with the football or batting a few softballs around as you are to see us planing a piece of wood or gluing up a table. Once the average temperature hits 70 degrees, Grant is usually itching to get to the lake, I’m looking to get to the golf course, and Phil is usually ready to do both. Blain somehow manages to maintain a deeper level of discipline and heeds the responsibility to keep us on task and away from the golf course. I’m convinced it is simply because he’s tired of playing double bogey golf and losing bets but even Blain’s self-control isn’t strong enough to keep us off the golf course on the first 65-degree day in early spring.
Although spring is in the air and golf is on the horizon; the warming weather also welcomes our busy season. As projects from clients and home builders steadily hit the shop floor, our schedules often fluctuate to juggle softball, late nights, and big deadlines. Although spring weather challenges our ability to work, quality products and client satisfaction remain our focus.
Unfortunately today high winds and a relentless drizzle has confined us to our working quarters but we eagerly await the nice weather and the highly anticipated consensus, “Lets hit the links!”
Grain Designs builds custom wood wedding tables that bring warmth and character to your event. From rustic farmhouse tables with folding legs to industrial wood tops and solid wood reception tables, each piece is designed to be functional, durable, and linen-free. Our tables have been crafted for The Pines wedding venue and other event spaces across North Dakota and the surrounding region, offering a timeless alternative to standard rental tables.
In collaboration with Rhet Architecture and Epic Built, Grain Designs helped bring Pines White—an upscale barn-inspired wedding and event venue outside Fargo, ND—to life. Featuring rustic wood farmhouse tables, custom sliding barn doors, a handcrafted bar, and outdoor ceremony furnishings, the venue blends agricultural heritage with modern elegance to create a timeless space for weddings and events.
Opened in 2022, Pines Black is the second barn-like wedding venue at The Pines Weddings & Events near Fargo, ND. Grain Designs contributed custom furniture and architectural details throughout, including 45 solid wood folding event tables, 16 modern sliding barn doors, and extensive ash wood finishes for walls, countertops, and bars. Blending agricultural heritage with modern elegance, Pines Black offers an upscale setting for weddings and events
Grain Designs builds custom live edge tables that showcase the natural beauty of hardwood slabs and reclaimed wood. From dining tables and conference tables to console tables and coffee tables, each piece is handcrafted to highlight organic character while delivering durability and style. Serving Fargo, ND, the Midwest, and clients nationwide, our live edge furniture transforms any space into a statement of craftsmanship.
