When Justin Bouchie talks about Against the Grain Wood Products, he does not begin with growth charts or grand strategic plans. He begins with family.

“I just wanted to be home,” he says.

That simple sentence became the foundation for a business that has grown from a sawmill and a load of logs into a trusted local source for rough lumber, hardware, garden stakes, kindling, practical building advice, and much more. Located in Bayfield, about 25 kilometres outside Antigonish, Against the Grain is co-owned by Justin and his wife, Kathleen, and is guided by a clear purpose: help people build without feeling priced out.

Justin came to the business with wood already in his bones. His grandfather was a boatbuilder from Little Dover, his father worked in carpentry, and Justin studied carpentry at community college before working in various construction-related jobs. Through it all, he kept finding his way back to wood.

“I always kind of gravitated back to woodworking because I really love it,” he says. “When you cut into a log or a piece of wood, it’s always something new and exciting.”

Learning on the Fly

When he and Kathleen moved to the Antigonish area, Justin first imagined starting a carpentry business. But with post-pandemic lumber prices climbing and a growing family at home, another idea took shape. He sold a vehicle, bought a sawmill and a load of logs, and started learning by doing.

“I never operated a mill before in my life,” he says with a laugh. “I just kind of figured it out.”

For nearly three years, he ran the business without heavy equipment, moving logs and lumber by hand. “When they say blood, sweat, and tears went into something, mine definitely did,” he chuckles.

The business began with rough lumber for local customers building sheds, chicken coops and other practical projects. People came. Orders grew. But eventually, Justin reached the limits of what one person and one saw could do.

“I was a month behind on orders, and I’m trying to keep up, but I really couldn’t go any faster,” he says.

That was when he approached CBDC NOBL. By then, Against the Grain already had a solid foundation, but the business needed equipment to move forward. With NOBL’s support, Justin and Kathleen were able to finance machinery that helped them handle material more efficiently. They later returned to CBDC for additional equipment as the business evolved.

“They’ve been rooting for us ever since,” Justin says, noting that Jo-Anne MacDonald has been “fantastic” to work with.

Against the Grain has kept adapting. Justin added shed roof trusses, garbage boxes, picnic tables, fence panels and other value-added products. Local businesses began buying from them, including garden stakes and fence panels. But one of the biggest turning points came from something much smaller: hinges.

An Affordable Alternative

One day Kathleen went to town to pick up hinges for a garbage box Justin was building. When she came home, the price stopped him cold.

“I was like, you have to be kidding me,” he recalls. “It’s no wonder people are so discouraged.”

That moment brought him back to the original purpose of the business. “The original goal for this business was to be an affordable option for people to be able to afford to do things and enjoy building,” he says.

Today, Against the Grain carries hardware such as hinges, screws, nails and joist hangers, including sizes suited to rough lumber. The business has also expanded into roofing steel, insulation, doors, windows and kiln-dried tongue-and-groove pine, while keeping its overhead low enough to offer competitive pricing.

“Our main focus is to give affordable options to people,” Justin says. “I don’t want to lose track of that.”

But the draw isn’t just price. It’s the experience. Customers often stop in and stay far longer than they expected, talking through ideas and projects. With his carpentry background, Justin can help them think through what they really need — and sometimes what they do not.

“I don’t want to sell somebody something that they don’t need just to make a buck,” he says.

For Justin, a deck, a camp, a wall finished in pine or a small renovation is not just another order. It may be something a family has saved for, planned for and dreamed of for years.

“For the person that’s getting the deck built, it’s a big deal,” he says. “They might get one or two decks built in their lifetime.”

Built Around Family and Community

Behind the scenes, Against the Grain remains very much a family enterprise. Justin is the face of the business, handling much of the physical work, customer service, quoting and deliveries. Kathleen manages the bookkeeping and administrative side.

“We have different jobs,” Justin says. “I can’t do what she can do, and she can’t do what I can do. So it works well.”

They are also raising six children, and Justin is intentional about protecting family time. “When family time is there, then that’s what family time is,” he says.

Still, the children are already connected to the work in small ways. Cruz, 13, helps with kindling and does wood burning projects. Layla, nearly 11, shows interest too. Justin’s oldest son, 23, works at a nearby mill, and Justin says he would welcome the possibility of bringing him into the business someday if the company continues to grow.

The Bouchies work hard to live out their values through the business, and Against the Grain clearly employs a waste-not-want not philosophy with their materials. Offcuts become kindling bundles, garden stakes or winter driveway markers, turning what might otherwise be waste into useful products.

Community matters, too. Justin, who grew up in Canso and Little Dover before moving to Bayfield after meeting Kathleen, says the area has embraced the business. Against the Grain supports local events, fundraisers and causes whenever people reach out.

“We always make sure that we give back to the community,” he says, “not because we want recognition, just because it’s the right thing to do.”

Mission-Centred Growth

Nearly five years into the business, the Bouchies can feel momentum building. Although they are happy to take things one day at a time, Justin says next chapter may include incorporation, more equipment, more carefully chosen products, and continued growth in value-added wood items. But he is equally clear about what Against the Grain is not trying to become.

“I don’t want to be just another hardware store,” he says. “We set out to offer an alternative to people.”

For now, the business is growing the same way it began: one useful product, one fair price, one conversation at a time. And for Justin, that is the reward.

“When somebody comes and says, ‘So-and-so was at my house, he said we’ve got to come here, so here we are,’ I do enjoy when that happens,” he admits.

Against the Grain Wood Products may have started humbly with a sawmill, a load of logs and a leap of faith. But in Bayfield, it has become something more meaningful: a practical, personal place where people can bring their projects, ask honest questions, save some money, and feel like someone is genuinely on their side.

Thank you to the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), who collaborate with us to support small businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs. Together, we will continue to build a stronger Atlantic Canadian economy, fostering job growth and strengthening our rural communities.