The System
Three integrated systems where the waste from one becomes the input for the next. We're not inventing anything — we're mimicking what nature already does. The result is a multitude of products from what would otherwise be a disposal problem.
Locally sourced timber turned into functional products. Every cut generates sawdust — most shops pay to dispose of it. We collect every grain.
Oak sawdust becomes substrate for Reishi, Lion's Mane, and Chestnut mushrooms. Grown in controlled environments shaped by light and CO₂.
Spent mushroom substrate (SMS) feeds our thermophilic compost system and vermicompost bins. Nutrients cycle back into the soil.
What Comes Out
Tables, chairs, bowls, cutting boards — functional craft from locally sourced timber.
Dual-extracted Reishi and Lion's Mane tinctures from mushrooms grown on our sawdust.
Lion's Mane and Chestnut mushrooms as a food source — grown, harvested, and sold fresh.
A mated pair — an oak bowl and a Reishi bonsai grown from its own sawdust. 100 pieces created over 2.5 years. Each sale funds the buildout of The Living Workshop.
Mycobricks, mushroom leather, and structural materials grown from Reishi mycelium. The vision: build the actual workshop from them.
Finished compost sold as-is or processed into liquid amendments for gardens and farms.
High-value vermicast fertilizer from our worm bins — fed on SMS and food scraps.
Dried and ground mushroom powders and cooking salt blends for daily health and kitchen use.
The Vision
The ultimate iteration: a timber-framed workshop built from locally sourced trees with walls made from mycobricks — structural building material grown from Reishi mycelium and agricultural waste. A workshop that is, literally, alive. Inspired by the pioneering work of Phil Ross and projects like Hy-Fi, the organic mushroom-brick tower at MoMA PS1.
The 40-acre property already has gardens, chickens, and the infrastructure of a former timber framer's workshop. We're working toward complete renewable energy independence and eventually full off-grid operation.
And the entire model — plans, material lists, processes, everything — will be open-sourced so that anyone can build a Living Workshop in their own community. A MycoMakerSpace for all.
The Brain
An open-source, locally-hosted AI assistant built on Home Assistant that monitors and manages every system on the property. Lyra is the nervous system of The Living Workshop.
Sensors in gardens, mushroom tents, and compost systems tracking temperature, humidity, CO₂, and soil conditions in real time.
Cameras pointed at gardens, mushrooms, compost, nature areas, and throughout the shop — Lyra can see what's happening and flag what needs attention.
Trained on natural building, gardening, mushroom cultivation, carpentry, permaculture, and more. An on-site expert that's always learning.
Connected to every system — from grow tent climate control to workshop lighting. All open-source, all locally hosted, nothing in the cloud.
On the Land
A former timber framer's workshop and property currently being transformed into The Living Workshop. The land includes gardens, a chicken operation, workshop buildings, and room to grow.
Expanding food production using permaculture design and compost from our own closed-loop system.
Part of the nutrient cycle — food scraps in, eggs and manure out.
Working toward complete energy independence and eventually full off-grid operation.
YunoHost server, Pixelfed, PieFed, Home Assistant — all running locally on-site.