Treeboard is a family business operated from our home workshop, and we’re not greatly affected by the coronavirus pandemic that has had such a devastating effect on the country and the world.

Our family is mostly isolated from the outside world and, compared with many others, we're unlikely to contract the COVID-19 virus for the time being. On the rare occasions that we go to the hardware store to get supplies, we take precautions with masks and hand sanitizer. Most supplies either come from wood that’s cut right near our home or other products ordered online.

The local mailman and UPS carrier in Spencerville, Md., that pick up customer packages wear gloves and masks. The boxes we use for packages are almost always new ones from Uline in Pennsylvania, except in rare cases when we are unable to find a fit. We strive to buy domestic, American-made local supplies and usually succeed.

The virus has heightened our customers’ awareness of sanitation, and we’re responding by sanding the live edges of our cutting boards more thoroughly, seeking to reduce the amount of “spalting,” or natural staining of wood that’s a precursor to decay.

Wooden cutting boards are sanitary to use in your kitchen if you follow basic steps to avoid conditions for germs. (Please read our blog about cutting-board cleaning.)