Cigar World's Artisan’s Corner:

Cigar World had the opportunity to sit down with Ed at Waxing Moon Humidors to learn more about his shop and the excellent craft Humidors they produce.

Make sure to head over to Cigar World's Instagram page @cigarworld to enter for a chance to win one of Ed's Humidors!

Jean: Tell us a bit about your shop and creations?  

Ed: My shop is kind of unique.  I had purchased a property that was in foreclosure on the edge of town.  The house was totally stripped out, nothing in the kitchen, not eve counters or cupboards. This was perfect! I have rooms within the house that serve various purposes. My main shop is in the living room, and the kitchen has heavy tools, like a planer, bandsaw, and drum sander. I have a rough cut room where I store my hardwood and Spanish cedar and a chop saw to cut boards to length. I also have a room for packaging and another for gluing things up. I do my finishing in the basement. I have a 'man cave' upstairs."

My creations, well, the humidors are mostly inspired by the wood.  I use ¾” hardwood lined with ¼” Spanish cedar.  I try to optimize and capture the beauty of the wood with each piece. 

I have built many things in my woodworking life…. From dining hutches, sideboards, flag cases, jewelry boxes, etc….  Out of all of it, I enjoy making boxes the most.  Humidors fit right in to what I like to do.  

I have built over 1,000 in my career, and hopefully will build over 1000 more. 

Jean: What inspired you to get into this space?  

Ed:  I would have to say my Father.  My father had built a small woodshop on the back of his garage when he retired from his job.  He always had an interest, but limited time.  Now in retirement, he was able to tinker in the shop.  

Unfortunately, that didn’t last but a couple years when he became ill.  In 1992, I was lucky enough to inherit most of his tools while he was still alive and I just started “tinkering” myself and finding out how much I enjoyed woodworking.  My dad passed in 1999, so there were a few good years of trying to “impress” him…..  

Woodworking became more than a hobby, it was a passion.  I started making jewelry boxes and giving them away to friends and family, and made myself a couple humidors along the way…..  In 2008 when the economy crashed, I decided to hang up my shirt and tie job and took a leap of faith to enter the custom humidor world….  I haven’t looked back.

Jean: How long have you been working with this medium? 

Ed:  I have been woodworking since 1992, and building custom cigar humidors, one at a time since 2009.

Jean: What is the process you go through to create every piece? 

Ed:  Each humidor usually begins with a request that I receive through the various online presence.  I try to listen to what my customer wants with his humidor and go from there.  Once a humidor is booked, I will then start hunting for the appropriate hardwoods as requested.  I am pretty picky about the boards I choose…. And usually have to dig through a fairly big stack at the lumberyard.

Once I have the hardwood secure, I start by working it in to my workflow.  I like to look at the board for a bit to capitalize on the best layout for the grain to be displayed.  I then cut to it the required length and further milling operations to get it to the desired thickness.  I like to start with rough cut lumber, so there is a good bit of milling to be done…..

And then, it goes on from there.  There are quite a few steps to describe, but that’s how they pretty much all start.

Jean: How long does it typically take to create one piece?  

Ed: It depends.  I would say ideally around 2 weeks.  But, depending on my workload it could go as long as 4-6 weeks….  

Jean: What is your favorite piece you have made?  

Ed: That’s a tough one….  I pretty much love ‘em all… but, if I had to choose one, it would be the first one that I sold back in 2009.  It was Bird’s Eye Maple and Bolivian Rosewood….  Pic below.

Jean: Where do you live? 

Ed: I live in a small town called Albert Lea, MN.  It’s located in southern Minnesota near the intersection of I-90 & I-36

Jean: Do you have a brick and mortar shop or just online? 

Ed:  I do not have a brick-and-mortar retail shop, but my woodshop is indeed brick and mortar, well, wood and concrete.  99% of my humidors are commissioned through online correspondence.

Jean: Do you smoke cigars?   

Ed: Yes,I really like variety, but if I had to pick a label, I’d have to go with Fuente’s

Jean: Where do you like to smoke a cigar, and do you have a go-to drink you enjoy with your cigar?  

Ed: I usually smoke in the shop; I have somewhat of a man cave there when someone visits, or I’ll just have one while I’m working in the shop….  I guess with my smoking pattern, my drink of choice would be coffee….   Once in a while, I’ll smoke one at home, but that would be in the backyard or garage or somewhere outside.

Jean: Do you take commissions for custom work, and where can our audience find you?  

Ed: Yes, most all of my work are commissioned and customized to one degree or another.  I have a presence on Facebook and Instagram, and I have my website, Waxing Moon Humidors, and my email address is ed@waxingmoonhumidors.com

Jean: Anything else that you want us to discuss?

Ed: I am a one-man shop, and each humidor is hand-crafted by me.   I had a regional PBS station feature my shop on one of their shows called “Off 90.” they featured various craftsmen along the I-90 corridor in Southern Minnesota.  Here is an excerpt from that show. 

I’m always thinking of things that I could do with my craft within the cigar community, but to be honest, my hands are pretty much full with my humidors.  I will, however, consider any kind of commission.

I was also involved in a program that provided flag cases to the family members of first responders involved with 9/11.  I had the honor of making and presenting to the family of Captain Victor Saracini, pilot of UAL-175.  A very humbling experience.

I am very thankful for the cigar community which has kept me going since 2009, I look forward to what will be coming to life on my workbench in the future.

Jean: Thanks again Ed! Such interesting information and beautiful work! Bravo!