Conversations with Trevor Begay

Today we’d like to introduce you to Trevor Begay.

Hi Trevor, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I got introduced to wood burning through an art class I was attending in 2020, so when the government told everyone to stay inside and stay away from people, I had enough time to practice more and get comfortable with a wood burning machine. Although I thought about taking it a step further and start burning out realistic portraits and landscapes with different shades and details. I found it better to just use the machine to outline my designs when it came to my craft.

When it comes to Red Running Into Woods, People really love my Navajo Basket Clocks.
The first time I posted my first clock that I made for my mother on social media, my phone began blowing up with notifications! I knew this was something special and It wasn’t long until I had messages pop up, asking if I build these clocks and if I do sell them, whats the price? Once I began doing orders after orders, people started noticing how reliable I am and once I started attending events, my followers started growing even more.

I remember when I was trying to pick out a name & logo for my business, I asked my followers to pick between 5 different designs including 5 different names that I came up with, to be the image of my business. If I remember correctly, some of the names that I came up with were Hogans-to-go , Strong Tree Gallery , The Hanging Hogan and Red Running Into Woods. Out of most popular votes Red Running Into Woods had the most likes then it was The Hanging Hogan. In the End , I’m very happy with the decision I went with because I left it up to my followers to decide.

At the moment, I’m always looking for new ways to improve the business so right now I’m in the process of building a new website and choosing new packaging for our small clocks. So far I’ve only sold online and in person but i do plan to have my clocks sell in stores soon. I love meeting new people everyday and so far it’s been a wonderful experience, can’t wait to see what this year has in store for me.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It hasn’t been glamorous all the time there has been times where it has been difficult like trying to keep up with supply & demand and also keeping my customer happy with the turn around time.

I’ve had unhappy customers complain about me, not getting my product out in a timely manner and having my product falling apart in the past. I do my best to explain how I can help to resolve that issue and I do appreciate every feedback that has been given to me because that is something I can work on to be more efficient in the future but even though I’ve received bad news in the past, I have also receive great news too!

I’ve had customers explain to me how beautiful my product is and how happy they are to receive it. How extraordinary it looks inside their home and how perfect of a gift this was for their loved one’s. This always made me feel great inside and it still does. There were times where I wanted to give up and stop because I was getting over worked but out of no where, I would started getting positive feedback on Esty and social media and it would just make me go even harder.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m known in the valley for making Navajo Basket Clocks and if I had to describe it, it’s basically a 12” inch round wooden clock that’s has a Navajo Wedding Basket design in the center. For hardware, it does come in silver, gold or turquoise color and there’s an option to add a white outline in certain areas to make the design pop! I do also have a bigger size as well due to customer demand and it’s 24” inches in diameter and 1” inch thick of pine wood!

If I had to be proud of any piece I’ve built so far , it would have to be the Big Navajo Basket Clocks because it’s a piece that nobody has ever built before but yet, everybody wanted one. It was a dream , it wasn’t real at one point and finally , someone came along and built one for the community, you’re welcome. It’s also an eye catcher and I can’t wait til I build an even bigger one!

Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
The most important lesson I’ve learned through my journey is keep moving forward. You have your good days and you have your bad days but keep moving forward. Keep exploring new ideas, keep an open mind and keep adapting to your environment & the market. You’re going to have times where you mess up but the mess up moments are the learning moments. Also take the time to do your research! Look it up, Google it , Tik Tok it , YouTube it , somewhere on some app there’s going to be tips and tricks that can help you along your journey. Aho’

Pricing:

• $170 – BIG Navajo Basket Clocks
• $75 – SMALL Navajo Basket Clocks

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/red_running_into_woods?igsh=N3JvNnA1bDkzcmR2&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1A1Ke3JyTb/?mibextid=wwXIfr
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@red_running_into_woods?_t=ZT-8wPh6GQzzQp&_r=1