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The Wicked Grain Team
Jacob Matz
Jake is co-owner and co-founder of Wicked Grain. He graduated from Kansas University with a degree in art. A short stint as a substitute art teacher led to a full-time teaching opportunity as a special education teacher, which lead to a vocational teaching program for special needs students at Turner High School here in Kansas City. He went back to school and received his Master's degree in special education while continuing to teach. It was during this time that he began teaching his students how to turn pieces of wood into functional art as a way to raise money for their program. Eventually, Jake had the opportunity to finally teach art within the district, which he did for several years before the "functional art" pieces he was creating for Wicked Grain required more and more of his attention. In 2015, Jake took the leap to pursue Wicked Grain full-time and he hasn't looked back since. He credits his grandfather, an avid woodworker, for influencing his desire for woodworking
Jodi Matz
Jodi is co-owner and co-founder of Wicked Grain. Jodi graduated from Kansas State University with a degree in Dietetics and a Master's degree in Dietetics from Kansas University. In 2012, she became a certified health and wellness coach. It is her same passion for helping others discover their unique paths towards wellness that fuels her desire to help clients express their individuality in their furniture and spaces. Jodi is a self-taught, true DIY'er at heart. At one point, her friends and family wanted to stage an intervention and have the HGTV channel removed from her line-up because it was too inspiring and she kept roping them into her projects (Jake being one of her many victims)! In 2014, Jodi stepped away from the production side of Wicked Grain when she became pregnant with their second beautiful child to focus on the in-house operations. Now that their little man is no longer a toddler, she is looking forward to getting back into production!
Jude Smith
Jude joined the Wicked Grain team in 2020 as a master sander, packer, clear coat tech, and talented wood artist.
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