About us
Premium Wooden Fashion Accessory Brand
At offTheWood, creativity is the watchword. We believe in exploring the fields that many would ordinarily ignore. We are committed to bringing life to great innovativeness in fashion and style. With the use of wood as our main material, the importance of conservation of natural resources and the protection of the environment where we operate from is present through every step of creation.
Story From The Founder
I moved to Montreal with my older brother when I was just 13, to escape the civil war in my home country, the African nation of Burundi, and later I attended university in Winnipeg, where I would set down permanent roots.The birth of OffTheWood takes its root from my origin, an inspiration born after my visit back to Burundi, my hometown, in 2014. This lovely place I had a strong attachment to in my childhood days was on the verge of ruin at the time.
The old houses in my neighborhood were collapsing with unemployment leaving the people in abject poverty... Read more
Franck Ndayubashe
Story from the Founder
I moved to Montreal with my older brother when I was just 13, to escape the civil war in my home country, the African nation of Burundi, and later I attended university in Winnipeg, where I would set down permanent roots.The birth of OffTheWood takes its root from my origin, an inspiration born after my visit back to Burundi, my hometown, in 2014. This lovely place I had a strong attachment to in my childhood days was on the verge of ruin at the time.
The old houses in my neighborhood were collapsing with unemployment leaving the people in abject poverty. I saw the environment not also spared from the devastation. The river I used to swim in had suddenly dried up too. The excitement around the town was completely lost and hope seemed slim. I could have helped with fundraising but I opted to help the people see value in creativity, fashion and style. I started to design various ideas linked to the fashion industry, experimenting with authentic African fabrics that my mother sent him. But somethng got me thinking, I recalled a wooden necklace I used to wear and people loved it, and at that right moment, I felt inspired. Wood seemed like the perfect material to bring into the spotlight of the fashion world, due to being non-toxic, biodegradable and recyclable. What’s more, because the grain pattern and density of each tree is unique, each wooden accessory will be too!
After making a quick phone call to a carpenter friend in rural Quebec I've known since high school, My first wooden bowtie was made from recycled cabinets, natural wood and drawers. Today, we also use natural wood from certified forestation.
I made my first sale when I was filling up my car at a gas station and a man at the pump next to me noticed the wooden bowtie I was wearing. The passerby bought three bowties, straight from the boot of my car, and it’s all been uphill from there. Now, the number of handcrafted wooden bowties offered at OffTheWood has grown to fifteen. No chemicals are used, just a natural varnish to bring the unique grain of the wood back to life.. There are plenty more wooden accessories to be explored on the horizon, so watch this space!
My brand is symbolic to people who love and conserve the environment. This is because we agree to plant one tree for every wooden bowtie and other products you buy from us.
This is where I make the difference and delighted to have you patronize us.
Franck Ndayubashe
Founder
Fashionable accessories
Redefining fashion accessories into something very exciting and catchy.
Sustainable materials
We use renewable resources in all our products with minimum wood manipulation.
Social Responsibility
For Every product sold, We plant a TREE in Africa.
Founder
Bowtie started our journey
Wooden bow ties are our major product. We love bow ties because they are elegant, classic and a necessity in the closet of the modern gentleman. Wood is the right choice for us owing to its non-toxic, biodegradable, hypoallergenic, recyclable and energy efficient characteristics. Its use makes us stand out to leave a lasting impression. Coming from popular demand, we've also extended our product line to cover wooden lapel flowers and wooden sunglasses, bracelets that are uniquely designed and more to come.
Each product is different because no two pieces of wood we use are identical, even when from the same type of tree. This is because of the development pattern, density of its cells and orientation as it goes through diverse seasons.
Most of our products ara hand-made and designed our in Canada.
ECO-FASHION IS OUR VEHICULE
At OffTheWood, we are committed to innovations and standing out from the crowd. The natural environment where we live is our source of inspiration. By making high fashion, eco-friendly products we’ve begun a move towards a more responsible world and a better future. We conceptualize men’s fashion accessories with our unique designs while inspiring sustainable living. Our products spark conversation and encourage people to talk about our environmental responsibilities. We believe that we can change the world by first making the change internally.
Our role goes far and beyond to reach the world in fashion and style. We are committed to help reduce environmental hazards and eliminating hunger and poverty in our world. We are in partnership with Trees for the Future to enable us plant trees in Africa. LEARN MORE.
For every product SOLD, one tree planted in Africa
Our vision
IMPROVING LIVES OF OTHERS
OfTheWood envisions a world where creativity and fashion take its place as one of the vital tools to impact the lives of others in the society by adding values and improving their lives with help from natural resources such as WOOD. We are on a journey to giving back to the world and helping people find hope in the beautiful life that is theirs. The dream of a greater height for us is not far away and we hope to take everyone higher in the quality and level of productivity that we put into work. In our drive towards improving the world, we are helping:
Ending Hunger - Ending Poverty - Ending Deforestation
Give hope to the needy in the society especially places where there is so much hunger and poverty.
We strongly believe that together we can be what we intend to be in the world we live in.
Our Goal is to plant 1 million trees in Africa by 2022
Fashionable accessories
Redefining fashion accessories into something very exciting and catchy.
Sustainable materials
We use renewable resources in all our products with minimum wood manipulation.
For Every product sold, We plant a TREE in Africa.
