For nearly three years, the Hagan family has been making waves in the South Jersey craft-maker scene with their woodcarving business, That Crafty Family. Rooted in the Jersey Shore area and the New Jersey Pinelands, husband and wife, Dave and Kelly, and their four children—Lily (20), Maya (18), Kinsey (14), and Trey (12)—create beach and forest-inspired pieces from locally sourced wood. The Hagan family only uses wood from damaged or sick trees; that way, their art is ethical and breathes new life into these trees. That Crafty Family has blossomed since its 2022 launch, with sponsorships from Arbor Tech and Total Boat, a strong social media following, several public pieces, an online store, in-person shops, and live woodcarving shows.
The Hagans’ crafting journey began years before That Crafty Family, as Dave reminisced, “...it all started… when they were even littler… working together and doing stuff on the scroll saw, or Trey with the chainsaw...” Dave and Kelly homeschooled their children in Ventnor, NJ, educating them in the local environment and visual arts. The family took trips to local parks and nature centers, and went for walks on the beach, learning about marine life while collecting seaglass for crafts. Through these projects, Dave and Kelly saw their kids’ passion for crafting and motivated them to make gifts for friends and family. Before they knew it, the Hagans had enough experience to make a bench for Reed’s Farms’ Donor Bench Program in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey.
Clockwise from top left: Love and Live carvings, The Monarch, Chainsaw-carved pumpkins, Dave Hagan
This bench was pivotal in the origins of That Crafty Family, as it was their first piece on public display. It caught the eye of one family in particular, as Dave recalled, “...a family from Tuckahoe had seen our benches at Reed’s Farm… they wanted us to create special benches for them to put on their property. And at the same time, they had a big old oak stump that they were hoping to get a carving made out of. So that’s how a bigger project started.” Before they knew it, the Hagans were making more benches and other custom orders, mostly from their live woodcarving shows, as Dave stated, “...that’s kind of how a kind of a bigger project started… when we’re carving live and people see us carving different products or see creations that are already on the table, they’ll say, ‘Oh, can you make me this?’”
That Crafty Family is a business that embraces both family and individuality. Dave and Kelly’s eldest, 20-year-old Lily, plays softball and majors in Communications with a concentration in Professional Writing at Immaculata University. While she’s away at school, she edits videos for the business’s social media during her free time. The second eldest, 18-year-old Maya, a recent ACIT graduate and Rowan University freshman, is the family’s painter and social media manager. She has created many hand-painted pieces, such as ornaments and beach scenes, and does free face-painting at events. As That Crafty Family’s social media manager, she manages posts, responds to DMs, and has secured sponsorships with Arbor Tech and Total Boat, strategizing for the business’s digital future, as she explained, “We’re kind of shifting right now from short form content like 90 second, 15 second reels… to YouTube and more content-heavy things like 10-15 minute videos… we’re going away from mass producing to larger pieces and quality videos.”
12-year-old Kinsey, the youngest daughter, will attend Holy Spirit High School in Absecon, NJ, this fall. She was named an All-American softball player in 2024. She plays a key organizational role with That Crafty Family, always putting the finishing touches on projects alongside her mother, Kelly. 12-year-old Trey, the youngest child and only son, is the family’s young prodigy woodcarver. He has six years of experience, learning how to use a chainsaw at just six years old. He has created and sold numerous carvings on his own and has contributed directly to larger projects, such as “The Monarch,” a gigantic butterfly statue. While “The Monarch” is Dave and Trey’s design, Maya guided them with structural advice and painting.
The Hagans have strong family values, and when it comes to That Crafty Family, each member donates their unique skills and talents to their artwork. “The Reach,” a nearly 20-foot-tall, one-of-a-kind red cedar tree table at The Shoppes at the Asbury in Ocean City, NJ, best showcases this collaboration and how the Hagans have grown together. Inspired by the Hagan family’s original display table for their store at Stainton’s in Ocean City, NJ, “The Reach” has become a well-known centerpiece in The Shoppes at the Asbury, with the owners of the store describing its beauty and uniqueness by the classic A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, as they wrote in a social media post, “A tree grows in SATA. No, it’s not a reimagining of the literary classic. It’s a one-of-a-kind display table.”
With “The Reach,” instead of Brooklyn, a red cedar grows inside the historic former Crown Bank building in Ocean City, NJ. It is That Crafty Family’s largest project to date, with the red cedar sprouting up from the store’s first floor towards the mezzanine, nearly touching a chandelier hanging from the ceiling. One of the biggest challenges with “The Reach” was getting it through the front doors and the three-month deadline for SATA’s grand opening. “The Reach” taught the Hagans that when all hands are on deck working hard, they can achieve the seemingly impossible, as Dave noted, “I have pictures of us leaning the tree table onto our deck and working at 10 o’clock at night, because we had such a time constraint to be able to deliver the tables for their grand opening…”
The Hagans have another smaller table in SATA, located in the small room near the front entrance on the first floor, titled “Rest on Her Shoulders.” Along this black walnut table and on the table surrounding the base of “The Reach” are displays of various artwork and products from other local artists and makers. As trees symbolize family, “The Reach” and “Rest on Her Shoulders” both show how the Hagans are rooted in their South Jersey artist family and community, as Dave put it, “...that’s the thing that sets apart custom artwork… compared to bigger stores and corporations because everyone just really cares about each other, and they want to see each other succeed… it’s an awesome community of people… It’s been great to meet so many people and be inspired by them too.”
“The Reach,” “Rest on Her Shoulders,” and many other custom tables and pieces are available for sale and special order. If interested, and to place or inquire about other custom orders, you can visit That Crafty Family’s website at https://craftyfam.itemorder.com/shop/home/, where you can find more information on the business and do some online shopping.
That Crafty Family has announced plans to expand their show schedule this year, particularly during the upcoming fall. Be sure to follow them on social media to stay tuned for future live woodcarving show dates and locations.
