A Year After Closing On their Mt. Shasta Estate, I Toured Ron’s Workshop
Last week I drove out to see Ron. It had been exactly a year since he and Starr closed on their Mt. Shasta estate, and he'd asked me to come walk the property and see the workshop. When I was there, Ron told me something I haven’t stopped thinking about.
Forty years a contractor, Ron was my father’s reliable handyman for at least 10 of those years. He’s the kind of guy who doesn’t just replace a shelf, but gives you floating shelves. He’s kind of man who looks at a tired old residence and sees what it could be.
One year ago that property was rough. Deferred maintenance doesn’t quite say it. Now you walk the grounds and it's obvious a craftsman has been here — everything built to construction grade standards. Every line squared, every surface considered, nothing left half-finished. He's transformed the place the way only a lifetime of building prepares you to transform anything.
We were standing in the shop when Ron said it, his wife Starr right beside him.
"You know, I've been dreaming about owning a place like this since I was a young man."
He looked around at what he'd made of it.
"Thank you for helping our dreams come true."
I've heard a version of that sentence in a hundred kitchens and homes. You have too. That moment when the keys change hands and a family realizes the thing they've dreamt about for years is finally, actually theirs. The gratitude is authentic. It's also fleeting.
When I think back on the beginning of my quest for the perfect closing gift, it’s that precise moment that I wanted to make tangible.
What I’m about to show you is more than a photo. It’s the culmination of our decades long relationships, and the achievement of a lifelong dream, given form. Compliments of nature’s bounty, right here in Northern California.
Ron handing Cristi West the very first board — board #1 — with depiction of a woman and her horse and the words "Slow down... Take it easy."
It would normally be us handing this board to the client, except that in this special case, Ron’s the maker.
While I was there, Ron handed Cristi, my mom and our mortgage pro, the very first board to come off the line. Board number one. Look at the design etched onto the face — a hand-drawn woman being hugged by her horse, and beneath it, five simple words: Slow down. Take it easy. Anyone who knows Cristi knows that's her in a sentence. That's the whole point.
A good board doesn’t just sit there. It's a small portrait of the person you give it to.
Here's what most closing gifts have in common: they disappear. That bottle of wine gets drunk. The fruit basket gets eaten. The gift card slides into a wallet and then into thin air. You spent real money and inside of a month there's nothing left to show for it — no reminder, no afterglow, nothing proudly on display that says this is the person who helped me get here.
A cutting board doesn't disappear. It’s always present. It gets used every single day — onions on a Tuesday, the bird at Thanksgiving, set out with cheese when it’s time to host. It's the perfect size and weight for all cutting chores while being easy to handle. Constructed of dense hardwood that takes a knife and holds its appearance for decades.
When it bears a design that means something to the family, they’re not going to bury it in a drawer. They display it. They show it off. And when a guest leans in and asks where they got it, your client tells the story — their story, which is also your story. Now they’re dropping your name. You’re an indelible part of their story.
And… you’re “the guy” (or gal) Who Made it All Possible
That makes an impression no postcard or fridge magnet can ever touch. Imagine being quietly present in your client's home, on their kitchen counter, in their hands, for years to come. Not as an ad — this is so much more than an ad. You’re a part of their everyday. You’re family.
Limited to 30 per month
✓ 11" × 15" premium Northern California hardwood (Oak, Black Walnut & Birch)
✓ Handcrafted in Northern California
✓ Custom engraving available
✓ Buy 5, Get the 6th on us
Things of this quality outlast all of us, too. A board like Ron's gets handed down. I'd put money on the kids squabbling over who gets it someday — and honestly, what a problem to leave behind! Most of the things we give people are forgotten soon thereafter. This gift becomes the one thing on the family table nobody can bring themselves to part with.
So I'll ask you what I asked myself: If you're going to spend the money on a closing gift, why spend it on something that ends up in a garage tote, or worse, the garbage? Why not give your clients a gift that becomes a small beacon of pride in their daily lives?
That's the whole idea behind the cutting boards. You deliver the moment. We’ll etch it in premium hardwoods. Give it permanency.
This month: buy five boards, the sixth is on us.
Now, you can get more board for your money. Hand them all to your clients, keep a couple for the office, or set one out in your own kitchen — I know you want one. And, don’t miss the beautiful new combination of black walnut with birch stripes. There are about 20 left, so put your order in before they’re sold out.
All the best,
Tyler E. West
(530) 852-1512
Lincoln Reporting provided courtesy of:
Tyler West
Founder, Premiers.Co
(530) 852-1512
tyler@premiers.co
DRE: 02135475
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Last week I drove out to see Ron. It had been exactly a year since he and Starr closed on their Mt. Shasta estate, and he'd asked me to come walk the property and see the workshop. When I was there, Ron told me something I haven’t stopped thinking about.