What happens when three shop teachers and an English teacher brainstorm?  Answer:  beautiful, strong, compostable wooden cutlery!

The birth of Aspenware dates back to 1997 when one of the three saw wooden cutlery from Europe on a television documentary.  As shop teachers, they did what came naturally - they went on a fieldtrip to see for themselves!  What they found was definitely made of wood but lacked strength and functionality.  They set to work brainstorming ways to improve the cutlery.  Late one night, Terry Bigsby, one of the original three, had a "Eureka" moment that led the company to form veneer, designing the world's first "laminated" wooden cutlery.

Aspenware is becoming a common sight in grocery store aisles with a significant, yet completely unintended benefit.  Aspenware cutlery, as well as its packaging, is truly compostable.  "We don't consider ourselves a green company," says Bigsby.  "We simply want to be known as a company doing good things the best way we know how in a constant effort to improve."

Today, 15 years later, Terry and the Aspenware team continue to apply their skill and ingenuity, building Aspenware's second manufacturing line.

Help for Aspenware came in the form of a grant from the Industrial Research Assistance Program, but the ultimate reason for Aspenware's success is the incredible team of great people behind it.  "Without them, we wouldn't be in business today," Bigsby says, "We now have twenty team members and believe growth will be exponential as the market becomes aware of Aspenware."

www.aspenware.ca