Our Story VIVID Stabilized woods is a small family business located in rural Oregon, USA, owned and operated by Susan Curington and Les Dougherty, who are both artists in their own disciplines. Susan is an acrylic painter who specializes in nature and all of its beauty, whereas Les works with nature, crafting wood products into wonderful pieces of art. Like many others, they were hit hard by economic downfall in 2008, finding themselves having to rebuild from tough times. They knew that they needed to find new ways to make the best of what they had. Susan and Les bring their artistic pursuits and ideals to VIVID, now creating products for other craftsmen and artists of the world. They founded the company after years of operating North Woods Figured Woods with the goal of providing high-quality raw wood products from the Pacific Northwest to woodworkers all over the world. VIVID carries that purpose further in pursuing the goal of introducing the world to the timeless beauty of stabilized wood, created using innovative technologies that have been beyond imagination until very recently. VIVID's product lines are nearly all sourced locally, centering around highly figured Big Leaf Maple, a species of wood that is found exclusively in the Pacific Northwest. Through stabilization, the wood is no longer subject to shrinking or cracking that you would experience from traditional raw wood. And, when stabilizing these woods, various dyes are used to create a plethora of stunning visuals that are sure to catch anyone's eye. What VIVID really provides is a foundation for craftsmen and artists to build ideas on, creating beautiful showpieces of their own. Projects based on stabilized wood often include fly fishing rods, knife handles, duck calls, pens, electronic cigarettes, and many others; perhaps what makes these materials so ideal is the unlimited possibilities of what can be created from them. Furthermore, in promoting artistic ideals and aesthetics, VIVID also helps to create new jobs in a market that is not only renewable, but gives back to the economy.