Lloyd Washington couldn’t really tell you why he does the things he does, other than that he just wants to.

That’s why he started woodworking in sixth grade and why he joined the Air Force after college, bringing the New Jersey native to Colorado Springs.

“Growing up, I had always worked on cars,” Washington, 59, said. “I just figured the next step was working on planes.”

After retiring from 24 years in the Air Force, Washington opened a shipping store on Academy Boulevard. He was just looking for something to do. He ran it on his own for six years before a customer asked if the store was for sale. Washington replied with a yes.

“I just did it,” he said. “I guess I don’t think things through long term.”

Once again, Washington found himself looking for something to do. So he bought an industrial laser engraver, something he had wanted for years.

After decades of woodworking as a hobby, he was ready to make more items for friends and to sell to strangers. The machine helps with that, allowing him to engrave tiny words and designs into pieces of wood.

That was in April 2019. By July, his creations were in stock at Eclectic Co., a boutique-style makers market with locations in downtown Colorado Springs and Old Colorado City.

Washington’s line of wooden art, under the name “Yes, I Wood,” includes mandalas, magnets and decorative pieces. These come in a variety of forms such as bicycles, Disney characters, animals and cups of coffee. He’s also made clocks, which function, and cameras, which don’t, and plants, which are fake.

“I just enjoyed making things,” he said. “I guess that’s just the way my brain is wired.”

When the holiday season was approaching, Washington had a thought: “Oh, it’s going to be Christmas. I should make ornaments.”

Those ornaments have become some of his most popular sellers.

Washington crafts them to show multidimensional scenes of Santa Claus in the sky or red stockings hanging above the fireplace or a fox in a snowy forest. During the 2020 holiday season, his ornaments sold out more than once at Eclectic Co.

He fits impressive details on the small decorations, such as tree branches and leaves of flowers and windows on houses.

Washington insists he has “the easy part.” The hard part, then, falls to his 30-year-old daughter, Jaclyn, who paints his wooden fixtures when she’s not working her full-time job as a manager at a local urgent care.

“Her painting brings them to life,” he said.

Together, they bring a handmade and unique option to those looking for ornaments. And, as happens with Christmas decorations, his ornaments likely will turn into mementos to be cherished for years.

“I think people think they’re special,” Washington said. “It’s not something you can get at Walmart.”

They are pretty affordable, though, at around $15 per ornament. Washington shares that detail when he says, “I didn’t start this to make money.”

He started this because he wanted to. He spends parts of most days in his backyard shed with his laser engraver, what he calls his “big toy.” It reminds him of earlier days of fixing computers or fixing planes in the Air Force, but on a much smaller scale.

“When I fix stuff, people are happy and when I make stuff, people are happy,” Washington said. “So why wouldn’t I? If you want to do something, why wouldn’t you?”