Born from the Rhythm of the Tides
A place that shapes how we live, make, and gather.
Read Island, in the Discovery Islands of BC
A Handcrafted World at the Edge of the Map
Surge Narrows was born from a quiet stretch of the Discovery Islands where cedar groves, fog-washed mornings, and shifting tides shape the pace of life.
Here, we craft slow-made wooden pieces, gather botanicals for natural body care, and welcome guests to a small cabin carved into the wild edges of the coast.
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Surge Narrows is more than a place — it’s a way of being. A remembering. A return to what’s real.
OUR STORY
How It Began
Surge Narrows began with a love for beauty — the kind found in quiet places, foggy mornings, cedar-framed shorelines, and the small details you only see when you slow down.
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I married into a family with deep roots on Read Island, where my husband had begun building a small off-grid cabin overlooking the channel. As we spent our days finishing the cabin together, pieces of wood piled up around us — offcuts, curls of grain, simple scraps destined for the burn pile.
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One afternoon, I sanded a small piece out of curiosity -- and the island revealed something I hadn’t expected.
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Beneath the rough surface, the wood came alive: rippling grain, warm tones, light that moved like tidewater. I shaped more pieces. Then more. The work felt grounding — a way of holding onto the beauty of this place.
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At the same time, my little lotion bar hobby began to grow into something with purpose. Surge Blooms took form — wild botanicals and simple, natural body care inspired by the island’s seasons.
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The woodworking found its own path as Of Surge & Keel — “Surge” for Surge Narrows, and “Keel” for my married name and the steadying force beneath every boat.
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Now, we split our time between Yellow Point and Read Island — tending the land, finishing the cabin, crafting pieces shaped by the place we love.
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Surge Narrows is our way of sharing this coastline with others — its stillness, its fog, its cedar, its ever-changing light — through the things we make with our hands.
- Dorota
WHO WE ARE
Meet the Husband-and-Wife Team
Dorota
Photographer, storyteller, wood-shaper, collector of beautiful moments. Dorota is the eye and the hands behind much of Surge Narrows — shaping boards, gathering botanicals, and capturing the quiet beauty of Read Island. Her work brings the land’s stillness and light into every piece.
Mike
Builder, maker, and the steady force behind the cabin and workshop. His roots on Read Island run deep, and his craftsmanship forms the bones of this place — from the cabin’s beams to the tools and techniques that anchor every piece we make.
THE ISLAND
This Place Shapes Everything
Read Island is a remote corner of the Discovery Islands — where cedar roots grip bedrock, ocean currents carve the shoreline, and mornings are quiet enough to hear ravens talking in the trees.
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The land is rugged and gentle at once.
The tides teach patience.
The weather shifts the work.
And every piece we create is a small tribute to this place.
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Being here has changed how we move through the world.
It has slowed our pace, deepened our craft, and grounded us in something real.
“Every piece we make carries a little of this place — its fog, its cedar, its quiet rhythm.”
THE CABIN
A Home on the Map
Near the dock, tucked between pine and shoreline, we are building a small retreat — a place shaped entirely by hand, from log to beam to board.
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This cabin is part of the Surge Narrows story:
a place to pause, breathe, and feel the stillness that inspired everything you see here.
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More to come — soon.
OUR VALUES
Crafted in the Rhythm of Nature
Everything we make begins with place.
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Wood is gathered slowly and respectfully — windfallen when possible, milled by hand, chosen for its character rather than perfection. Every knot, curl, and tide-marked grain tells part of the island’s story.
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Our botanicals are grown or wild-gathered from the land that surrounds us: blackberry leaf, stinging nettle, chamomile, calendula, yarrow. We use these plants the way people on this coast always have — simply, seasonally, and with gratitude.
There is no rush here.
Pieces take the time they take.
Seasons lead the work.
And every board, blend, and bottle carries the quiet stillness of island life.
Slow Craft
Pieces are made slowly, seasonally, and with deep attention. There is no rush; quality is the rhythm.
Rooted in Place
Everything begins with the land — its rhythms, its resources, its limits. We take only what we need and honour the stories in each piece.
Natural Materials
From wood to botanicals, we work with ingredients the land offers — sustainably, respectfully, and with gratitude.
Made To Last
We craft with intention so your board, balm, or blend becomes part of your everyday rituals, for years to come.