When a chef and a designer met.

When Mike and Natalie Cooperman met at a holiday party in New York City in 2003, they probably had little idea that 18 years later they’d end up in Wisconsin, three kids deep, collaborating on wooden kitchen utensils, but here they are.

Mike, a former chef, worked at fine restaurants like the The Modern at the MOMA and Le Bernardin, and Natalie designed textiles for the likes of the Gap, Corelle, and Martha Stewart.

Eventually, the growing Cooperman family packed up and moved out to Menomonee Falls, outside Milwaukee, and it was there that Mike began flexing his creative muscles in a different arena and took up woodworking, following in the footsteps of his grandfathers. He started with making cooking spoons and Natalie handled the hand-dipping—another natural step, considering her background as a designer. Originally these creations—with wood sourced locally—were meant purely for themselves, as they couldn’t find the products they wanted to use. But people sat up and took notice, and Patton Drive was born.

When they’re not carving, sanding and dipping, the couple is wrangling their three kids, Ruby, Fiona, and Gavin, and taking weekend walks at Kettle Moraine State Forest . For every purchase Patton Drive donates to plant a tree.