OUR STORY

Who we are
We're a woman-owned brand based in the Detroit area.

An everyday object, a favorite thing
I unearthed an old wood mallet in the garden shed out back of the house, the same shape as an ancient mallet I'd once seen at the Smithsonian. I gave it a place of honor on the kitchen countertop, and it quickly became my go-to tool for everything — crushing walnuts for cookies, rolling out dough, whacking something (surprisingly often) —and everyone else's, too.

What's old is new
Years later, I had to make a mallet for a college Fine Arts assignment as an introduction to the lathe. I skipped the mass-produced design we had to copy and designed my own, inspired by Barbara Hepworth's modernist wood sculptures. The result blended art with function—practical, familiar, and beautiful.

Art and usefulness, hand in hand—in your hand.

Mallets have been used in various aspects of life, from food preparation to crafting, since ancient times. I love the connection between art and history with everyday tools, and I believe you will too.

Maybe you've discovered this also—you create, find, or even buy something that becomes a favorite object simply because you like having it around. You like looking at it; it's useful, and it brings you joy.

Life imitates art
Life upheavals prompted me to return to college and complete the degree I'd abandoned years earlier. A maker at heart, I left the biz world to pursue Fine Arts. During a woodworking class, we were tasked to turn a mallet as an introduction to the lathe. The sample we were to duplicate was a sad mass-produced version of my garden shed find. A fan of contemporary art, I reimagined the tool as both a wood sculpture and a mallet. Convinced of its potential appeal, I spent numerous hours refining models on a lathe. After crafting countless design iterations, Detroit Malletworks was created.

OUR IMPACT
We create products with thoughtful, sustainable design. We are committed to supporting our communities through our production processes and sales.

PEOPLE CARE

Your purchase enables us to donate a percentage of our annual profit to Noah at Central in Detroit, MI, a hub for services and resources that support individuals on their path to stable housing. We also support children's education in Traverse City, MI.

PLANET CARE

We craft our products using sustainably harvested wood and RMP Finishes® plant-based Cutting Board Oil which is 100% food-safe. Our mallets are biodegradable; leather straps are made of environmentally friendly vegetable-tanned leather.

Crafted with quality
Mallets are made from premium North American hard maple unless otherwise specified. Select larger sizes are made from laminated blanks using food-safe, water-based glue from hard maple offcuts that would otherwise be discarded. This method helps prevent warping and cracking that can sometimes occur with solid wood items.

Crafted to be timeless, our designs marry well with various styles in today's eclectic interiors.

Crafted to last
We design today's mallets to be tomorrow's heirlooms. With proper care, you can hand your mallets down to future generations.

Crafted in the USA
We're committed to supporting our communities through our production processes and sales. We design our collections at our studio in Michigan. Mallets are turned and hand-finished in Pennsylvania, then oil-finished in Rochester, Michigan—and for the Bump collection, leather-strapped by ZEHO Leather Works, a family-run leather shop in Romeo, Michigan we're proud to partner with.

Eco-friendly packaging and shipping

We use shipping boxes and kraft paper void fill that are designated EPP (Environmentally Preferable Product), and kraft water-activated paper tape. Our tags are printed on Mohawk Renewal recycled cotton paper; stringers are black polished cotton. All incoming shipments are requested to come to us plastic-free.