After five years and 25,000 pieces, a fire gutted this furniture-maker's warehouse

Matthew Wicker is the owner of WickerWoodWorks, a handmade furniture company based in Portland, Oregon. The company creates pieces made to store vinyl records — Wicker shared his business’s story with “Marketplace” last year.

In August 2025, the company’s warehouse caught fire and burned down, destroying all inventory and equipment inside.

“We had probably about 100 orders that were just about done or done in there,” recalled Wicker. “All those years of work and investment and memories was just up in flames.”

Just a few weeks after the fire, Wicker is already back to building pieces in a temporary space. He hopes to get outstanding orders out to customers as soon as possible.

To hear the rest of Wicker’s story, click the audio player above.