STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

Nicolo and Sebastian Lerner could have watched the old barnwood be carted off to the landfill.

But the two young brothers saw that the boards could become so much more. And, so, they gave them new life as sustainably handmade artisan cutting boards and charcuterie boards that showcased the natural beauty and character of the wood.

They dubbed them Boulder Mountain Boards. And they’re selling the boards—perfect for a wine and cheese night—at the Ketchum Arts Festival today and Sunday, July 12 and 13. The festival, which features a hundred artists and crafts people, runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday at Sun Valley’s Champions’ Meadow on Sun Valley Road.

Sebastian Lerner minds the store at the Ketchum Arts Festival which continues today and Sunday at Sun Valley’s Champions Meadow.

Nicolo Lerner, a senior year at Sun Valley Community School, said he and his older brother Sebastian originally made the boards for use at the family dinner table. But they decided to go bigger when friends and neighbors saw them and wanted some for themselves. Eventually, they began using hardwood like elm, cedar, oak, walnut, Russian olive, apple and redwood.

“The most popular is black walnut All of it is from Idaho, for the most part, although we do get some from California,” said Sebastian Lerner, a Sun Valley Community School graduate who now attends the University of California at Santa Barbara where he’s studying economics and accounting.

The two brothers have set up shop in an old horse barn at their family home in Gimlet. There, they cut and sand the boards, finishing them off with mineral oil so the natural color and grain of the wood shines through.

“It’s cool because there’s no board the same,” said Sebastian. “We don’t use chemical glazes, plastics or resins, and there are no chemicals from gluing parts together. Our boards are super thick—they’ll never crack so you have a piece for life. They’re functional works of art, and you don’t need to worry about cuts or scratches because the wood is so hard.”

Nicolo Lerner sits on a cedar bench or coffee table the young men have sanded and stained.

The Ketchum Arts Festival was a bustling place Friday morning with many shoppers having ridden their bikes from Bellevue and Hailey to avoid sitting in road construction near the hospital south of Ketchum.

River Rock artist Mike Baldwin of Bellevue showed off new camp candles made with pebble-like river rock and a oil lamp that his granddaughter was roasting marshmallows over.

And Deanna Schrell showed off some of her newer landscape paintings.

“I tend to paint smaller paintings because when I camp I have just enough time to paint what I see outside my camper,” she said. “And of course, I’m always in a beautiful spot.”

Shayne Stoakes worked on the railroad in Pocatello before starting a second career, painting trains. He is still working on this painting of the old Sun Valley Depot where trains dropped off skiers in Sun Valley Resort’s early days.

Josh Cretser of McCall makes furniture out of skisand bird houses using old ski bindings.