News/ FAQs

October 3, 2021

Elbin Art had a booth at the Powhatan Festival of the Grape event on 2 October and it was a great event.  Beautiful weather and a great turnout for the event.  Had some wonderful help with my wife and daughter assisting in setup before the event and breakdown after the event.  Was very fortunate that my daughter also worked the event with me.  On display at the Elbin Art booth was some existing products as well as some new products just recently introduced.  Thank you to all who visited the booth and thank you very much for those that ordered an Elbin Art product. Go to event page to see photo of the booth as well as photos of new product introductions that were on display at the booth.  The next event where there will be an Elbin Art booth is the Rassawek Autumn Festival.  Go to event page to learn more.  If you are looking for something special for the Christmas holiday, it is important to get your order in now as we are only talking about a couple months to make the product and ship it.  Currently working on orders received at the Powhatan Festival of the Grape and anticipating orders from the 2 day Rassawek Autumn Festival as well as online orders so it will start to become difficult to fulfill orders before the holidays.  Please keep in mind that it takes some time to manufacturer the product,  including curing time of the stain and final protective coats.   The product also needs to cure a minimum of 1 week (7 days) after the final coat and prior to shipping the product.  

April, 2021

While Elbin Art started out utilizing mostly whiskey and wine barrel staves for products, Elbin decided to develop other products that do not incorporate a barrel stave.  In keeping with the theme of beautiful quarter sawn Oak, which is what a lot of barrel staves are made of, Elbin Art is now making products from quarter sawn American White Oak and quarter sawn European Oak boards.  Elbin personally selects the American White Oak from a couple wood vendors in the US and personally selects the Imported European Oak from one particular wood vender in the US.  After carefully selecting the raw wood boards, the boards are then shaped, sanded numerous times, stained and coated to make for a beautiful and functional display piece.  

March 9, 2021

Product review just added to each product listing.  Since this was just added, reviews for previous sales do not show up here.  If a product is ordered at art show, festival, etc., those reviews do not show up.  This is only for products should through the website AND if the customer elects to leave a review.

January, 2021

In the past, Elbin would use finished wood that was available at local home improvement stores for the handles and pads on servers as well as shelves on pieces.  Many times it would be red oak as white oak would not be available.  The staves used for his pieces are typically white oak so when the shelves, pads and handles were stained, there was a difference in color between them and the whiskey stave.  Going forward, the handles, pads and shelves are all white oak.  This requires more time to prepare pads and shelves as the white oak for them are selected from raw sawn lumber that is then planed down to the right thickness required for the pads and shelves.  It is important to continue to perfect the pieces that Elbin makes so that the owner of the piece will have a product to enjoy for years.  

Can I have any of the Elbin Art products personalized ? 

• The majority of the time the answer is yes however there are cases where I cannot - send me an email at elbin@elbinart.com detailing what you are looking for.

Where are you located and how large is Elbin Art?

• Elbin Art is located in Powhatan, VA.  There is no physical store.  This is a small single person business by Elbin, Frank E Stone, who has a passion for woodworking art.  Products are available through my store on this website and certain events where Elbin Art will have a booth (see events page).   

I am not affiliated with a distillery or winery however would like a specific distillery/winery on a Elbin Art product, can I get that done?

• Maybe.  I do not make a product with a distillery or winery's logo on it without getting their permission first.  If you would like a specific distillery or winery's logo on a product, let me know which one and I will contact them for permission.

I am an owner of a distillery, restaurant or winery.  Can Elbin Art customize some of the products with my logo / name engraved on it?

• Yes - send me an email at elbin@elbinart.com detailing what you are looking for.

I am an owner of a distillery, restaurant or winery.  On the Elbin Art Products that have an Elbin Art coin installed, can it be replaced with our own coin?

• If you have your own company logo coin, depending on the size, yes it can.  If you don't have your own company logo coin but are interested in having one made, contact Elbin@ElbinArt and we can discuss the options for this.  We work with a particular manufacturer on the Elbin Art coin and the same manufacturer could make your own coin.   

What is the lead time of your products?

• Is dependent on how many orders are in house, quantity of the order and type of product ordered.  Please keep in mind that most of my products are made to order.  Great care goes making each product.  Each product is sanded multiple times, stained, and coated to bring out the beauty of the wood and provide for longer life of the product.  There is also a cure time for the stain and final coats.  Some products also have detail work done to them and even holes are measured with precision to make sure you have a product that is a piece of art.  Typical lead time is 3-5 weeks depending on the product.  Contact Elbin@elbinart.com if you have a specific product in mind and have a specific date you need the product to see if the product can be accommodated.  

Is the hardware on Elbin Art products manufactured by Elbin Art? 

• No.  Hardware such as coins, cork openers, dispensers, bottle openers, bells, cleats, hooks, etc. are not made by Elbin Art.  Elbin Art shapes/sands/finishes the raw board pieces and/or the whiskey/wine barrel staves, adds the hardware (manufactured by others) to complete a finished product.

For products that are NOT made out of Whiskey or Wine Barrel staves, why do you use quarter sawn American White Oak or quarter sawn European Oak?

• When first starting to work with barrel staves, Elbin fell in love with the grain patterns of the Whiskey and Wine barrel staves after sanding them down.  The quarter sawn effect on the grain patterns many times produced very beautiful pieces of wood art.  When deciding to branch out to items that were still whiskey/wine related but not created with a stave but with raw wood, Elbin decided to use two woods - quarter sawn American White Oak and quarter sawn European White Oak - both having beautiful grain patterns.  
• American White Oak.  According to many online sources,  if the product is Bourbon, it has to be in aged in American White Oak.  American White Oak is also used in whiskey and wine making and there are other woods as well besides American White Oak however Elbin decided to use Quarter Sawn White Oak since it was the most popular for whiskey barrels and required for Bourbon making.  Most whiskey related Elbin Art Products, such as glass/bottle caddies, will be made from American White Oak.

1. European Oak.  While wine barrels may also be made from American White Oak as well as other woods, Elbin decided to use a different wood for wine related Elbin Art products and European Oak (which is also used in wine barrels). is what he typically uses for wine glass/bottle caddies.   Those Elbin Art products can also be ordered made from American White Oak as the European Oak is  typically more expensive due to it being an imported wood.