Catherine Herdlick
Catherine sells and makes the maps.
Here’s the story of how each custom wood map gets made,
and its journey through the Bay Area…
Your Design
Your Browser
Our website lets you pick a size for your map, create a composition of anywhere in the world, and define which woods should be used for roads, water, parks, etc.
Our Software
The Cloud
Our proprietary software processes your design to get it ready for production. We simplify edges, remove small pieces, and add guide marks to ease assembly. We render the design into several laser-friendly CAD files.
Wood Veneers
Los Angeles (and beyond!)
We purchase our beautiful all-natural wood veneer selection from a wholesaler in Los Angeles, but the woods themselves originate from around the world. You can learn more about the woods here on our sustainability page.
Lasers!
Mission District
We escort the wood through our lasercutting machine with the assistance of the CAD files from our software. We also do a lot of materials prep make assembly easier.
Map Assembly
Mission District
The increased precision afforded by the lasercutting machine requires increased precision from our inlay techniques. Some pieces are large and unruly while others are small and wily. Tweezers are our friends. Our team of master craftspeople gets every piece where it belongs, sands the map flat, and finishes it.
Packaging and Fulfillment
San Francisco to ???
It’s important to us that the same care that went into making your custom wood-inlay map be involved in transitioning it from us to you. We pack every order in natural materials that protect the map during their journey, are a joy to receive and unpack, and are easy to dispose of responsibly.
