About Rustic Incline
Our shop is in Incline Village, Nevada, on the north shore of Lake Tahoe, and most of what we sell is made here by hand. We cut charcuterie and cutting boards in the shape of the lake, UV-print magnets, laser-cut keychains, and blend our own wood wax — all of that on the bench here. A few things, apparel among them, we design here and have produced by partners we pick. We will always tell you which is which. Lake Tahoe Gifts is the name on the storefront; Rustic Incline is the shop behind it.
It started with a board that didn't exist
In 2018 I went looking for a Lake Tahoe-shaped cutting board. I worked my way through the gift shops around the lake and came up empty — plenty of rectangles with Tahoe printed on them, nothing cut to the shape of the water itself. So I made one.
The problem was that it came out too good to cut on. I couldn't put a knife to it, and neither could anyone I showed it to. So it became a charcuterie board instead: rubber feet so it sits flat and steady while you're serving, and a sturdy metal hanger on the back so it goes up on the wall the rest of the year. Serve dinner off it, then hang it as art.
Then people started cutting on them anyway, and asking for the real thing. That's how the cutting boards came back around — thick countertop and end-grain versions, built to take a knife, rubber feet and all. Now we carry both, in a range of exotic woods and sizes.
The charcuterie board started everything. What began as one board nobody would cut on turned into a shop that makes Lake Tahoe pieces from small magnets to full-size Tahoe tables, and most of what falls in between.
Why the lake shape
The outline is our own drawing of the shoreline, not a traced survey map. We cut to that drawing, so it reads as Lake Tahoe at a glance without pretending to be cartography. Cut in the shape of the lake, not printed on a rectangle — that is the whole difference, and it is the reason a board takes as long as it does.
How we work
We select hardwood in person from local dealers — black walnut, sapele, Patagonian rosewood, acacia, curly maple — chosen plank by plank for grain and tone. Every edge is hand-sanded. Every serving surface is finished with food-safe oil and beeswax, no varnish. Many boards get a hidden hook on the back so the piece serves dinner and hangs as wall art the rest of the year.
We also make the conditioner we finish them with: Good Wood Wax, three ingredients, blended in small batches in the same shop. You maintain your board with the same finish it left here with.
See the full build process · Browse pieces we've already built
What we make here
Lake Tahoe charcuterie and cutting boards, lazy susans, turned bowls, wall art in figured hardwood and epoxy, preserved moss art, wooden flags, dart boards, coat racks, ornaments, drink coasters, UV-printed magnets, laser-cut keychains, and Good Wood Wax. Boards run about $155–$225; coasters are $12. Most pieces can be engraved with a name, a date, or a cabin name.
We also build custom signs — engraved wood and dimensional letters off our own laser, with full commercial capability behind us for anything larger.
What we design here and have made elsewhere
Apparel. Our Lake Tahoe shirts, hats and sweatshirts are designed in this shop and printed and embroidered to order by a production partner. That is deliberate — printing to order means every size stays available instead of us guessing at a run and selling out of mediums in July.
We assemble backlit acrylic art here around licensed photography and commercially printed panels.
We would rather say this plainly than let "handmade in Lake Tahoe" quietly cover things it does not.
Where to find our work
Beyond this site, our pieces are carried at Tahoe Gifting Company in Incline Village, Mountain Home in Truckee, The Potlatch, and Cabin Fever. We sell on Etsy under Rustic Incline and wholesale to shops through Faire.
Where to find us · Custom and engraved work
Questions
Who makes Lake Tahoe Gifts products?
Rustic Incline, a workshop in Incline Village, Nevada, on the north shore of Lake Tahoe. Lake Tahoe Gifts is the storefront name; Rustic Incline is the shop. The same hands cut the boards, run the UV printer, and blend the wood wax.
How did Rustic Incline start?
In 2018, looking for a Lake Tahoe-shaped cutting board in local gift shops and not finding one. The first board came out too nice to cut on, so it became a charcuterie board with rubber feet and a wall hanger. Customers eventually asked for cutting boards they could actually cut on, and the line grew from there.
Is everything you sell made in Lake Tahoe?
Most of it. Boards, wall art, lazy susans, bowls, coasters, magnets, keychains, ornaments and our Good Wood Wax are made by hand in our Incline Village shop. Apparel is designed here and printed to order by a partner, and backlit acrylic art is assembled here from commercially printed panels. Every product page tells you which it is.
Do you have a store I can walk into?
No. We're a working shop, not a retail storefront, and we don't keep walk-in hours. Order here, or find our work at the Tahoe-area shops listed above.
Can I commission something that isn't on the site?
Usually. Wall art, lazy susans, end tables, signs — most of it is built to order anyway. Tell us what you have in mind.