Morning light pours through the storefront windows of Galena Spoon Company as Paul Pendola works at a three-legged log workbench, transforming a piece of wood into a spoon with a few hand tools. The quiet hands-on nature of the craft contrasts with his former corporate career in hospitality, a world he stepped away from after realizing he wanted a different kind of life.
Launching the business in 2014 in Dundee as the Fox River Spoon Co., Pendola began exploring whether the craft he was drawn to could support a new way of living.
“I can’t say in the beginning there was a clear goal,” says the JCE Co-op member. “I had a strong desire to simplify my life and fell in love with the simplicity and authenticity of the greenwood spoon carving craft.”
Today, Galena Spoon Company reflects that shift from corporate career to an intentional, handcrafted business rooted in a historic town whose landscape, 19th-century architecture and vibrant Main Street create the perfect backdrop. The shop features Pendola’s spoons, boards and other utensils alongside carefully curated woodenware by other makers from around the Midwest.
“I love the process of demonstrating the craft, engaging with customers about the design and production process, sharing kitchen and cooking stories,” Pendola says.
His appreciation for woodcarving began while living in London where spoon carving, specifically traditional green woodworking, is popular, he explains. “I’m certain I got the bug when I was there,” he adds.
Before carving spoons, Pendola hadn’t done any woodworking. “I never took a shop class, never had a wood shop at home,” he says. “I was a creative spirit, but never did woodworking.”
After returning to the U.S., he often carried a few tools in his backpack during walks along the Fox River and carved spoons to give to friends. Their encouragement sparked the idea that the craft could become something more.
It took a few years to build up confidence to sell at farmers markets and fairs. He started to see a path toward making it into a full-time business. Already familiar with Galena, he moved there in 2017 where he bought a house at the top of the Green Street stairs. He spent weekends carving and selling spoons from a small tent on the side patio of “The Spoon Carver Cottage.”
“The trolleys would go by, people would see me and then hike up the stairs to figure out what this guy was doing up there carving spoons,” Pendola recalled.
Although the cottage setup was “perfect,” his goal was to open a brick-and-mortar “meet the maker” store where he could carve in the window and sell his wares. By 2019, he had enough momentum to leave his corporate job and open his first Galena Spoon Company shop on Hill Street, just off Main. That little store quickly became an off-the-beaten-path destination. The Illinois Office of Tourism recognized him as an Illinois Made Maker.
“For a little maker like me, that was significant,” he says. “It was a confidence boost, and I got a tremendous amount of publicity from that.”
Pendola started teaching classes and added small wholesale accounts, custom projects and an online shop, but the little store was barely breaking even. He knew it needed Main Street visibility.
“I knew it could work if I could get the shop down to Main Street. That was the key. I needed the audience there,” he says.
While considering a 150-square-foot window display — essentially a storefront without a store — at the DeSoto House, Pendola learned that Root Beer Revelry, a craft soda shop, was for sale. He was encouraged to buy and merge the two spaces. However, he had already had his eye on the root beer business and soon he found himself with two stores in the DeSoto House, the root beer shop and the spoon shop.
As he focused on the root beer business, he kept the spoon store “on simmer,” carving and selling spoons at the small shop on weekends or by chance. Soon, the tiny window location was generating more business than the Hill Street shop.
“It was everything I wanted,” Pendola says. “But it wasn’t big enough.”
The search continued for a new location. He found it at 305 S. Main St., what he calls its “new and forever home.” The store is large enough for him to carve in the window while expanding the shop’s offerings.
Besides spoons, the company produces a wide range of handcrafted woodware including spatulas, boards and serving utensils. All items are made from locally sourced wood.
Along with Pendola’s creations, the shop features handcrafted products from other makers such as the Holland Bowl Mill of Holland, Mich., Whetstone Woodenware of Silverlake, Ind., Edward Wohl Studios of Spring Green, Wis., and Gina DeSantis Ceramics, among others. Stressing it is not a kitchenware store, he notes shoppers will also find a thoughtfully chosen selection of gourmet foods and kitchenware.
As Pendola says, there is more than meets the eye to the Galena Spoon Company. With the shop on the main level, the upstairs houses offices, warehouse space, and packing and shipping operations for the online store. He also maintains a traditional woodworking shop just outside Galena but plans to move it back to the Spoon Carver Cottage mid-2027.
The cottage is currently his home and is where he teaches and hosts artist events and spoon carving workshops, now paused but returning in 2027. The goal is to convert the space over the next five years into a 30-plus day artist rental where makers can create and connect.
“Our mantra is ‘meet the artist and discover the artist in you,’” Pendola says. “Hopefully visitors will leave the store or one of our workshops inspired to reconnect with themselves or others by making something in the kitchen or craft room.”
To learn more about the shop, featured makers or spoon-carving workshops, or to make online purchases, visit galenaspoonco.com.
