FROM TREE TO TABLE MOAB’S JUSTIN WIGGINS IS EQUALLY AT HOME FELLING GIANT TREES AS HE IS FASHIONING A CHILD’S WOODEN TOY Written by Ashley Bunton | Photos by Murice D. Miller
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ustainable homewares — think tri-colored chopping blocks, slotted spoons and rootball coffee tables — are not only being made in Moab, but are being milled by hand — from tree to table — by the makers. Local entrepreneur Justin Wiggins is the owner of Triassic Industries in Moab. A transplant from Alabama, he started with the company in 2012 before eventually going all in and buying the business in 2016. It wasn’t something he had set out
to do, but you could say he never left after a family vacation landed him in the area. The owner and his right-hand man, Aaron Kawcak, his one dedicated full-time employee, are “cranking on some trees” on a cold winter day in January. The arborists are taking down a dense Russian olive, limb by limb, at a home in Moab near where the invasive tree species has become established along Mill Creek. When it’s time to haul off trees for removal, they’ll end up
back at their woodshop and base of operations on Skyline Drive, where the two men think of ways to re-purpose the felled timber. “There’s a little bit of a technique to it,” Aaron explains in an understated way. He’s new to Moab after spending the past 10 years coaching snowboarding in Park City. The technique actually can involve a lot of careful thought and planning. The curating process for some of the pieces, such as dining room
Triassic owner Justin Wiggins
