If you have been out supporting local businesses in the past few years you may have come across pieces by local woodworker Marcel Jordan.
When he moved to Guelph to be closer to his job about nine years ago, Jordan wasn’t sure what he was going to do with the backyard workshop at the Neeve Street property.
“It was a hair salon and I saw this little shop in the back,” said Jordan. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do yet but I knew I was going to do something with the shop and become part of the community.”
Jordan bought a computer-controlled router and used his experience as a machinist and programer to master it. It allows him to take complex designs created on a computer and realize them as finished products in wood.
A few years later, Jordan left his job and now supports himself as a woodworker out of the backyard workshop full time, creating iconic pieces that can be found around Guelph and as far away as Newfoundland.
“I have been out on my own for about five years now,” said Jordan. “Opportunity kept knocking and I just kept going for it.”
Jordan’s work ranges from smaller items like custom beer tap pulls to huge pieces, like a nine-foot long table with logo he is working on for Sugo on Surrey, a restaurant directly across the street from his workshop.
When La Reina opened in Downtown Guelph Jordan was commissioned to create a large wooden skull as one of the centrepieces in the Mexican restaurant’s dining room.
The piece was cut in slices, which were assembled together on a shattered mirror backdrop to complete the eye-catching piece.
“I did their small skull beer taps to match. It’s a different theme, it was really fun,” said Jordan.
In 2018 he was also tasked with creating a sign for Chevrolet to place in Bonavista, Newfoundland, when it was named the ‘Most Road-Trippable Town in Canada.’
The next year Chevrolet had Jordan create a similar sign for the town receiving the same honour, which was much closer to home in Elora.
“That got me more involved in Elora,” said Jordan. “It’s a beautiful town.”
The sign out front of Sugo on Surrey was made by Jordan, as was large freestanding ‘U of G’ letters used by the University of Guelph for photo ops.
He has also done commissions for local non-profits, like the Children’s Foundation of Guelph and Wellington and the Mask Off Guelph black tie event.
Jordan said he has been fortunate to be able to continue to work during the pandemic and even did some commissions for plexiglass sneeze guards for some local businesses. He said networking and the support of Guelph businesses has been key to his success.
“Social media has been huge. I wouldn’t be where I am without the awareness of social media creates,” he said. “You find these real interesting people that Guelph has around. It has opened all of those doors.”
Jordan plans to continue doing large-scale projects under his www.marceljordan.ca business, but is also planning on completing smaller projects like beer taps, charcuterie boards sold by e-commerce under a new Studio26 branding.
A slight slowdown in commissions earlier this year gave Jordan a moment to breathe to plan out his future steps before a number of new big jobs came in for spring.
“The blessing was it was the pause I needed to restructure and rebrand. I am investing in a laser engraver, which will give me more options,” he said.
